# God, not "Allah" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 18, 2004, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965 "2004-03-18T02:47:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TGWATY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@TGWATY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TGWATY)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/1 "2004-03-18T02:47:31Z")
I believe that Christian/Moslem relations in America would improve if Moslems would use the English word “God” when referring to God in conversation and in the media instead of the Arabic Allah. I don’t know why they do that unless it is purposely to draw a distinction (which would be strange since they are the ones who are claiming to worship the same God of Abraham as Jews and Christians). From what I understand, “Allah” is simply the word for God in Arabic. Thus, Arabic Christians pray to Allah, as Germans pray to Gott and Spaniards to Dios. The reverse should work the same. Islam would seem less foreign if American practitioners would consistently use English. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/2 "2004-03-18T02:49:22Z")
I guess Christians should stop using Jehovah, then? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/3 "2004-03-18T02:51:35Z")
Yeah, that should do the trick. If they’d just change the darned word, we’d all be able to get along. ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/4 "2004-03-18T02:55:47Z")
> [@Ferret Herder](#): > > I guess Christians should stop using Jehovah, then? Amen to that! ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/5 "2004-03-18T03:21:28Z")
> [@Ferret Herder](#): > > I guess Christians should stop using Jehovah, then? If they don’t, we could stone them. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/6 "2004-03-18T03:25:15Z")
I call him ‘Robert’ at work. It’s Bob, when we’re just ‘hangin’. ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/7 "2004-03-18T03:32:37Z")
Sometimes people call my friend Jose Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisWalken\_sVoice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChrisWalken\_sVoice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisWalken_sVoice)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/8 "2004-03-18T03:36:38Z")
Yes, a lot of problems would indeed be solved if they called their deity “God.” Further, I know I would be a lot more comfortable if they showed a bit of reverence for the Son, as well as the Holy Ghost. This would make me feel a whole lot better regarding these poeple. oh, yeah, and if we could somehow get them to lighten their skin and hair, and sport some blue contact lenses, the whole nation would be at ease. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/9 "2004-03-18T03:59:02Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > If they don’t, we could stone them. No one is to stone anyone until I blow this whistle. Even, and I want this to be perfectly clear, even if they do say Jehovah. ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/10 "2004-03-18T05:56:11Z")
I’ve only gotten into religious discussions with 2 muslims that I can remember, and both of them used the term “God” exclusively. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/11 "2004-03-18T06:31:59Z")
Al’lah translates to “The God”, does it not? I was raised a Presbyterian, and I was taught that Al’lah, Jehovah, and Father-Son-and-Holy Ghost were all the same being. Maybe that’s true, and maybe not, but it sure seemed to make sense at the time. It still sounds true to me. That is my humble opinion. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/12 "2004-03-18T06:53:33Z")
I think Christians should call God “Allah”. It’s only a word difference, and “Allah” has been around longer than the Middle English word “God”, hasn’t it? Middle English dates from … 16th century? 15th? “Allah” was certainly around before then. ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/13 "2004-03-18T07:01:21Z")
Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/14 "2004-03-18T07:07:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Al’lah translates to “The God”, does it not? Just from looking it up quickly, yes, it does. It’s from a contraction of al+ilah. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/15 "2004-03-18T07:43:06Z")
Since obviously neither God nor Allah are acceptable, I propose a new, **neutral** name for your Supreme Being: from now on, you are all to refer to me as **Neil**. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/16 "2004-03-18T07:55:25Z")
…or Dwight ---
**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/17 "2004-03-18T11:14:35Z")
or Og. Og smash! ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/18 "2004-03-18T12:31:55Z")
> [@Really Not All That Bright](#): > > Since obviously neither God nor Allah are acceptable, I propose a new, **neutral** name for your Supreme Being: from now on, you are all to refer to me as **Neil**. Reminds me of a story I once heard about a tour guide showing a group of overawed tourists around the Houses of Parliament in London. As they were walking down a corridor, the guide spotted another guide with whom he needed to have a quick word. To get his attention, the guide yelled: “NEIL!” And the tourists dropped to their knees in unison. This could actually be a useful name for a god, if the god in question liked his subjects on the humble side. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/19 "2004-03-18T12:47:43Z")
Does it also bother the OP if someone refers to something as being “chocolate colored” instead of “brown”, or using the word “yams” instead of “sweet potatoes”? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965/20 "2004-03-18T15:42:11Z")
> [@TGWATY](#): > > I believe that Christian/Moslem relations in America would improve if Moslems would use the English word “God” when referring to God in conversation and in the media instead of the Arabic Allah. Perhaps, and the Muslim I used to play a lot of RuneQuest with certainly did–but he was a native Californian who practiced a more Indonesian flavor of Islam. From the Muslim point of view, there is a problem in that only Arabic is the language of the Koran (transliterated however gets the point across), and it is _a priori_ impossible to translate the Koran into any other language–merely to “interpret” it in that language (or at least that’s what I think the belief is–that what most of us would call “translations” are not actually translations, merely interpretations, since only the original language is the message from God exactly as it was spoken). Thus, if one already has the “proper” word to use, there is no point in using other words that are mere interpretations. To muddy matters more, the traditional term used by Arab Christians has always been “Allah”, as well but they don’t use “Allah” when speaking English–at least not the ones I’ve met. It’s essentially identical to “Ho Theos” in Greek. However, Greek Christians who speak English don’t insist upon using “Ho Theos”–however however, there is no belief that Greek is especially “true” or uniquely tied to Scripture in a way that no other language could be. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-not-allah/234965.md?page=2)