As a Christian, should I Praise the Name of Allah?
A man stands in the desert under moonlight, facing Mecca, calling out to his friends to start prayer.
Perfume was all over my skin after I’d spent over an hour in my favourite fragrance store in Dubai. Whilst greedily consuming and buying as much perfume within my means, I slowly begun to learn about the life and family of the Bangladeshi store owner. Upon leaving the store, I reached into my bag I gave him a small gift for his children (as I often keep in my bag for moments like these). Although we had been alone for the whole hour, two people had entered the store as I passed him the gift. Suddenly, the store erupted with praise. “Alhamd Allah, oh Alhamd Allah” (الحمد لله / Thank God) was exasperated loudly by an old lady, body covered in an abaya. Another customer echoed her praise. The man himself was both thanking me and God. I immediately left the store with the praises of God in Arabic echoing my mind. “Alhamd Allah”, I understood, meant “Praise God”; in English I silently praised, “thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus for their hearts”. Together, all four of us found a reason to praise God. But would I go so far as to say, “Alhamd Allah” too?
During my first trip to the Middle-East, I refrained from saying “Thank God” (الحمد لله) and certainly “God is great” (الله اكبر / allah ‘akbar). I did not want to give acknowledgment to the name that Muslims associate with ‘God’. Yet linguistically, “God” in English is translated as “Allah” in Arabic, so if I were to sing the popular Christian worship song ‘Awesome God’, I’d be saying “Our God is an awesome God” (إلهنا أله رائع / ‘iilahuna ‘alah rayie). Or if I sang the start of the bridge of ‘Oceans’, I’d be singing “Spirit (lead me)” (روح الله / ruh Allah), or more accurately, “Allah’s spirit (lead me)”, since in Arabic it’s necessary to specify that it is God’s spirit who we want to lead us. So if I am worshipping God as a Christian, with the ideological underpinning of Jesus (Isa), and still use the word “Allah” for God, then why can I not participate in the praising of Allah with the Muslims around me?
This raises another question. What does a Christian, saying “Praise be to God, Praise be to God” with other Muslims look like? It means that I must be secure in my beliefs, yet humble enough to not use them to divide. I can fight theologically for my conviction. And I am forever grateful that I am saved by Jesus. My Muslim brothers are grateful for God’s mercy, and am I, albeit for different reasons. Yet together we share a moment of praise to God. I learnt through my previous seven months in the Middle-East that refraining from participating in a shared moment of praise would cause more harm – it puts the theological differences between us as priority above the simple yet powerful act of praising God.
My pattern of logic is appropriate in the context of an Islamic country. Though in cynicism I’d be keen to see the response to worshippers in a Church if I cried out “allah ‘akbar”! Also I should mention for the sake of clarity, that in my opinion with where I am now, I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to pray in a Mosque alongside other Muslims. However I may certainly pray for them, as in agreement we acknowledge that there is a bring higher than us who we submit our requests to. Furthermore, I acknowledge that my analysis here is mostly linguistic, not theological – but this still applies to many situations when in an Islamic culture, where I want to say “thank God” (to Jesus), as they do to their conception of God as well.
Of course, I have many more questions. Going to Lebanon and Egypt might reveal more answers, or preferably, show me more questions. I want to know how to worship God as perfectly as possibly, amidst all the imperfections I have.
