Thursday, August 16, 2007

Dutch bishop: Call God ‘Allah’

The Dutch have certainly come a long way since Arminius. Via MSNBC:

A Roman Catholic Bishop in the Netherlands has proposed people of
all faiths refer to God as Allah to foster understanding, stoking an already
heated debate on religious tolerance in a country with one million
Muslims.
Bishop Tiny Muskens, from the southern diocese of Breda, told Dutch
television on Monday that God did not mind what he was named and that in
Indonesia, where Muskens spent eight years, priests used the word "Allah" while
celebrating Mass.
"Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all
say that from now on we will name God Allah? ... What does God care what we call
him? It is our problem."


This makes sense since it appears Europe is heading in this direction anyway (can't beat 'em join 'em, right?). Here's a thought-since there are about a billion more Christians than Muslims in the world, why not just called God Jesus?