confusion of speech

Originally posted on September 29, 2009 – by Andre Piet

Allah an idol

Last week the presentation took place of the book “the same God?” written by dr. Mark Durie. Arabist prof. dr. Hans Jansen and “Jewish-Christian pastor” Ben Kok argued during this gathering that the God of the Bible is a different one than the God of the Quran. It was brought forward how great the differences between the Bible and the Quran are. The portrayal that the Quran gives of God is an idol and not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, so it was argued by Ben Kok.

Allah not an idol

This view seems to stand in stark contrast to what I stated in my previous weblog, namely that however incorrect the description of Allah in the Quran may be, Allah is therefore still not an idol. I gave two reasons for this:1. Allah is the ordinary Arabic word for God. Arab Christians also speak of Allah. 2. Islam is a monotheistic religion that acknowledges only one God and with this confession precisely rejects every idol.

confusion of speech

The interesting thing is that Ben Kok contacted me yesterday in response to my previous weblog. We did not know each other but soon noticed several similarities between us (apart from the fact that we both grew up in Aalsmeer). When we discussed together the question whether Allah is the same as the God of the Bible, it quickly became apparent that our definitions differed and that we therefore arrived at contradictory conclusions. I proceeded from the ordinary Arabic word for God (Allah) and the shared belief with Muslims in one God, Creator of heaven and earth. Ben Kok, on the other hand, thinks of Allah as the deviating image that the Quran gives of God and calls that an idol. And against that latter point I have no objection at all!

Once again it became clear to me how easily confusion of speech lies in wait here. One speaks about the Arabic word Allah and the generally accepted, monotheistic idea behind it. The other speaks about deviating, dark Islamic conceptions of Allah. And so, before you know it, you are talking past each other.

Summarizing the main point:
Is Allah an idol? Answer: not Allah, but the image that the Quran has made of Him is an idol (that is to say, deviating from the God of the Bible).

Delen: