UPDATE: ISLAM: Muslims who are confident of their faith in Islam need not feel confused if others use the word “Allah”, Turkish writer and journalist Mustafa Akyol has said, joining the chorus of dissent from other celebrated Islamic scholars worldwide against Malaysia’s ban on the Arabic word. The prolific writer, well-known for his liberal views on Islam, told a talk that such a ban on non-Muslims in Malaysia is unacceptable as no Muslim should feel threatened by those of other faiths. Mustafa questioned why those of other faiths who have used the word “Allah” have not felt confused by it while Malaysian Muslims appear fearful of their religious freedom being usurped when their non-Muslim friends utter the word. He said the exclusive practice of an individual’s faith should not be confused with bigotry and narrow-mindedness. “We should be confident with our own faith,” said the author of critically acclaimed book - “Islam without extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty”. He added that it is only by conversing with people of other faiths that Muslims are able to develop a more sophisticated culture. “We should not shy away from learning different cultures and other philosophies but it is our very own defensiveness that makes us so close-minded to everything else,” he said. “There are Muslims that create this closed society, they will ban outside influences and block the internet but it is a lost cause because the world is different now, you can’t stop the younger generation from being exposed to non-Islamic things,” Mustafa added. If young Muslims are taught good values and how to be strong in their faiths, it should not be deemed a problem if they are exposed to the world. Driving home his point that “liberty” is indeed an Islamic value, Mustafa reminded that the Muslim holy Quran itself states that there is no compulsion in Islam. “The only compulsion comes from the society to make people more pious, to make people stay in a religion,” he said. The New York Times columnist added that there are many cultures or local customs that have been made “Islamic” in the minds of certain Muslims, even though they are not expressly mentioned in the Quran verses. Citing female genital mutilation as an example, he said many have mistaken it as an Islamic practise when this was never mentioned in the Quran. “It was a local custom in North East Africa that became Islamic in the minds of the people,” he said. He said there are also other Islamic “laws” that came from a fusion of Islam and culture. Another example is on the topic of apostasy in Islam, which is said to be a crime and punishable by death. “Again, there is nothing in the verses of the Quran which bans apostasy but there are actually verses that vindicate religious freedom,” he said. He noted that the Quran did not state that anyone should be punished for apostasy but it only stated that apostates will only be punished in the afterlife by God. “So, yes, I would say liberty is very much an Islamic value but it is the society and the government that are imposing their values and their interpretation of the Quran on us,” he said. He claimed that more people are oppressed in the name of “upholding a religion”, the more they tend to move away from it. “I should be given the freedom to practise my religion and if I don’t get to choose, how am I to practice my faith and follow my conscience in whatever I do? “ he said. - Malay Mail - DON'T BE BRAINWASHED BY UMNO! Be confident in Islam - worldwide calls not to ban ALLAH grow

DON'T BE BRAINWASHED BY UMNO! Be confident in Islam - worldwide calls not to ban ALLAH grow: "“If we are confident about our faith, why do we think that we can be confused if someone else uttered the word ‘Allah’?” he said at the talk titled,”Is Liberty An Islamic Value”.

Mustafa was speaking about the row over the use of “Allah”, a continuing dispute that has gone on since 2007 when the government ordered Catholic weekly Herald to stop using the word in its Malay section and the publication challenged the ban court.

The court had at first ruled in the Herald’s favour but the decision was overturned last October with the court ruling clearly stating that “Allah” is exclusive to Muslims."



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