A quick peruse of a recent Aljazeera press release reveals a most interesting article. Non Muslims in Malaysia are not allowed to use the word Allah! It’s a blanket ban, it seems, which the Catholic church has challenged in the high court of Malaysia, and lost.
Thoughts of Allah are often on my mind, as I settle back on my stunning verandah, perched high above the hypnotic harbour of Labuan Bajo, on the island of Flores, Indonesia. Allah makes his presence felt here, via the nearby mosque, in a loud and most annoying way at 5.00 AM, then more pleasantly at 3.00 PM and then again, with a long, mystical call at 5PM, ( this one I quite enjoy), which symbolises a “Call to Drinks” for me.
Flores is a Catholic island sitting in vast islamic Sea , except for Bali which is Hindu, but Allah has a small foothold here in Labuan Bajo. particularly around the harbour and fishing port.
Mr Tranquillo, a patient and generally tolerant man, talks often about wire cutters at 5 Am or whenever he passes a hardware. He fancies the idea of sneaking out in the dead of night and cutting the speaker wires of the nearby Mosque. The volume of Allah at 5 AM, via his earthly agent, the recorded Iman, is extraordinary and it is not a coincidence that the shop next door to our nearest mosque specialises in loudspeakers and stereo equipment.
Mr T suggests, in response to the ban of the use of Allah’s name by Non Muslims, that we just call him Allan.
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Allan is the perfect solution…
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yes, its catchy too.
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I had no idea that non muslims weren’t allowed to use the term Allah but Allan sounds like a sensible way to get around it 🙂
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Allan’s verandah drinks are about to start in 8 minutes.
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Paul Simon and the famous groundhog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzypOnklG60 won’t have a problem with that 😉
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Hahha. yes. This song did cross our mind today at some point.
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Mr T is absolutely spot on! Beautiful photos as usual. What a great balcony view you have.
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It’s is an unspoiled paradiso here- but change is in the air.
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LOL!! Beautiful view! Thanks for sharing!
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Ah yes, I have experienced the call to prayer here in New York. It can be quite magical at certain times of day. However, 5 am is certainly not one of them.
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Having just returned from Turkey (and other places) during Ramadan, we noted the Turks use ‘Allah’ quite freely, with words like ‘marsallah’ (blessings to you) and ‘insallah’ (god’s will be done), and encouraged us to do the same. It illustrates the point of how different are the practices in the many countries and branches of Islam.
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