Beyond the Allah word

By MT Webmaster Last updated Mar 27, 2014

This is a family squabble. Two siblings are quarrelling over who is right and who is wrong. Two siblings are fighting over the right to be the true religion. The non-Christians and non-Muslims who are so kaypoh and who are taking one side over the other do not really know what the fight is all about.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I have noticed many comments posted on the Internet by non-Christians and non-Muslims regarding the Allah word controversy. Of course, none of these people believe in the Bible or the Qur’an but this issue is good political mileage for these people. The more they stir the pot the more they can discredit the government. And this will help in garnering the Christian vote in Sabah and Sarawak, the two states that will determine who gets to form the next federal government in the coming general election.

I suppose everything can be politicised and the blame put on the government. That is what good politics is all about. Sometimes, however, in all that politicking, we lose track of fundamentals. And what are these fundamentals I am talking about? Well, maybe I can explain myself as follows to give the non-Christians and non-Muslims an idea on what the real issue is.

This is not really about the law, the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, human rights, civil liberties, freedom of religion, and whatnot, as some are arguing. It runs deeper than that. This is a family squabble between two siblings whose father is Moses and whose grandfather is Abraham.

As much as the Christians and Muslims may argue that their religion came from God — and thus are new and separate religions — the truth is both Christianity and Islam are offspring or by-products of Judaism, the religion of the nation of Israel (‘the nation of Israel’ not to be confused with Israel the country or the nation-state).

Some Christians believe that the Kingdom of God refers to the Kingdom in the Afterlife, the place we go to after we die. This is what Paul teaches us, of course. James, the brother of Jesus, however, teaches us that the Kingdom of God means a theocratic state here in this world (similar to the Islamic State that some Muslims talk about).

James was a Nazarene. Paul, however, was a Roman citizen. Hence James would not accept Roman rule while Paul felt that they needed to “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” (Mathew 22:21). Luke and Mark also report Jesus as having said this.

There is a dispute as to what this quotation really means. Some say Jesus is confirming that the Jews need to accept Roman authority and pay taxes to Rome. Others say this means they need to set up a Kingdom of God or theocratic state (here on earth) and reject Roman authority. The fact that at that time to reject Roman authority was an act of sedition punishable by death (meaning crucifixion, the punishment for rebellion), Jesus was forced to speak in parables.

Nevertheless, parables can mean whatever you wish it to mean. And Paul, being a Roman citizen, chose to interpret that statement meaning the Jews must kowtow to Rome. But James disagreed with this. And this was one of the issues that created the conflict between James and Paul.

Paul eventually left Jerusalem and went to Rome to preach his brand of Christianity, where he then went into conflict with Peter, who agreed with James and disagreed with Paul. Paul then announced his ‘independence’ from the Jerusalem community. And it was Paul who propagated the doctrine of Jesus the Son of God, a doctrine that was rejected by the Jerusalem Judeo-Christians.

Fourteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament are attributed to Paul. And in Paul’s books it refers to Jesus the Son of God. In those not written by Paul, it refers to Jesus the Son of Man. And this is the position that Islam has taken — the position of James and not the position of Paul.

Nevertheless, since Paul was Roman, the Romans took Paul’s position and not James’ position. And, in 325, Emperor Constantine officially accepted the doctrine of Paul as the doctrine of the religion of Rome, thus creating a split in Christianity similar to the Sunni-Shia split in Islam 300 years later.

The religion of the Christians is the religion of Judaism. The religion of the Muslims is also the religion of Judaism. Both Christianity and Islam were born from Judaism. You could say that Christianity and Islam were in a way Siamese twins. And these Siamese twins were eventually separated by surgery. And this surgery was the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. That is what separates Christianity from Islam.

Putting aside the ritualistic and iconic aspects of Christianity and Islam, both these religions share the same doctrine of the one God, the Afterlife, and so on. It begins to separate on the issue of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Hence the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ is very important to Christianity. Without this Christianity would not exist. Hence Christians insist that the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ did happen while the Muslims insist it did not.

If Christians agree it did not happen then they would become Muslims. And if Muslims agree that it did happen then they would become Christians. The only way Christians can remain Christians and Muslims can remain Muslims is to disagree on the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.

Hence is Jesus the Son of Man or is Jesus the Son of God? If Jesus is the Son of Man then the Muslims are the true believers and if Jesus is the Son of God then the Christians are the true believers. And this is why the Christians insist on using Allah while the Muslims insist they should not use Allah — because if the word ‘God’ were to be replaced with the word ‘Allah’ then Jesus would become Jesus the Son of Allah. And this will demolish the Islamic doctrine that Allah does not have children.

It all has to start with the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. If Jesus was not crucified and resurrected then Islam wins. If Jesus was crucified and resurrected then Christianity wins. If Jesus was the Son of Allah then Christianity wins again. But if Jesus was not the Son of Allah then Islam wins.

It is all about winning and losing. And it has been so for 1,400 years — about who wins and who loses. So forget about the law, the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, human rights, civil liberties, freedom of religion, and whatnot. This is not about all those things. This is about whose religion is the true religion, Christianity or Islam? And both Christians and Muslims will not give in and admit that the other side is right.

And one golden rule you should live by is when families fight and two siblings are at each other’s throat do not get involved or pour fuel onto the fire. After all, as far as Christians and Muslims are concerned, non-Christians and non-Muslims are infidels who are going to end up in hell anyway. The Christians and Muslims will say, “Thank you for supporting us. Now go to hell.” Yes, that is the belief of Christianity and Islam.

Raja Petra Kamarudin RPK