An Indonesian-American imam chairing a mosque in New York City has come out arguing that the use of the word “Allah” should not be limited exclusively to Muslims, saying that it would degrade the authority of God.
Imam Shamsi Ali of the Al-Hikmah mosque in Astoria, New York spoke out on the issue during a forum at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia campus in KL.
“If I limit the word ‘Allah’ to be owned only by 1.6 billion Muslims, then I am degrading the authority of Allah for being the God of 7 billion people,” he said, as reported by The Malaysian Insider‘s Lee Shi-An and Low Han Shaun.
“It is wrong and unacceptable. Who gives the right to Muslims to have the right only to use that word?”
In response to the ongoing controversy and legal battle in Malaysia surrounding the right of non-Muslims to use the word in their religious activities, Shamsi said the issue should not be politicised.
He added that any action that ran in opposition to any religion should not be accepted by anyone.
“I believe that any anti-religion is a crime. If my Jewish friend was being attacked I would help him, if my Christian friend is attacked by other people, I would help them, too.
“The Quran does not deny other religions, in fact, it acknowledges them,” he said.
The Malaysian Catholic Church has been in a heated legal battle to retain the right to use the word “Allah” to refer to God in its official newsweekly, Herald.
