According to this article, "The Malaysian government has softened an earlier ban on the use of the word "Allah" by Christian publications to refer to God and is allowing them to use it as long as they specify the material is not for Muslims."
The reasoning, behind the ban, is as follows: "The government had earlier argued that the use of Allah in Christian texts might confuse Muslims, who might think Allah refers to their God."
Now while the ban itself was silly, they identify an important point, namely that the word "Allah" is predominantly associated with Islam.
The Biblical god, YHWH, and the Islamic Allah are not the same. For a start:
1. YHWH is triune whereas Allah is absolutely one (tawhid).
2. YHWH enters into covenant relationships with His people whereas Allah simply does as he wishes.
3. YHWH, in the second person of the Trinity, incarnated in the person of Jesus whereas Islam denies the deity of Jesus.
4. YHWH demonstrates His justice and mercy at the cross whereas, apart from denying Jesus was crucified, Allah, to the extent that he forgives, 'sweeps sin under the carpet'.
Since the Biblical and the Qur'anic pictures of the divine are completely incompatible with each other, why on earth would a Christian (particularly in a Bahasa and not Arabic-speaking country) want to use a word that has strong Islamic associations of YWHW?
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