I thought Allah and God were the same omnipotent deity, only named differently specific to their followers' culture.

@ChrisRusso@xanga - Arabic Christians use "Allah" to refer to the Christian God.  All it means is "The One." I was curious about this.

I used to have a book that documented a couple of hundred instances of "tongues" that were human languages that the speaker couldn't have known but were overheard by people who did speak those languages. One story was from a missionary to an African country, who was trying to figure out what to call Jesus in that country, because the Jesus described in the Q'ran doesn't match the Jesus of the Bible. In a prayer meeting in Texas, he heard the person next to him praising God in Arabic or an African language (I can't remember), using the Arabic name for Jesus. So he figured that if that name was good enough for the Holy Spirit, it was good enough for him and his colleagues to use in their missionary work.

I'd kinda like to know the deeper Christian history into this kind of thinking.  I don't think Paul visited Greece and equated the Christian God with Greek gods and goddesses.  If Allah is a false god -- which it is -- why are we giving Elohim his name?

If, by Allah, they are seeking to invoke a sentiment of unity with the Islamic faith, then the use is inappropriate, both by Christian and Islamic standards.  Theologically, the Allah of the Koran and the God of the Bible are incompatible since the emphasis in the Bible is on Christ as the son/incarnation of God, which is considered blasphemous by Islamic theology.  From a Christian perspective one can argue that Allah is an image/reflection of the true deity of the Christian scriptures, but to say that they are equivalent is simply incorrect by both standards and does an injustice to both.

Points to consider.

- It's not an Arabic song. It's in English. According to Wikipedia (which I know isn't always reliable, but at least reflects popular understanding): "Some Muslims leave the name 'Allāh' untranslated in English. Sometimes this comes from a zeal for the Arabic text of the Qur'an and sometimes with a more or less conscious implication that the Jewish and Christian concept of God is not completely true in its details. Conversely, the usage of the term Allah by English speaking non-Muslims in reference to the God in Islam, Marshall G. S. Hodgson says, can imply that Muslims are worshiping a mythical god named 'Allah' rather than God, the creator. This usage is therefore appropriate, Hodgson says, only for those who are prepared to accept its theological implications." (source, emphasis mine) Are we prepared to accept the theological implications of referring to God by this name in English?

- What indication is there in the text, or anywhere else, that the "god" addressed here is unequivocally the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and nobody else? Again from Wikipedia: "Arab Christians today use terms such as Allāh al-ʼAb ( الله الأب, "God the Father") to distinguish their usage from Muslim usage." (I hope I don't need to remind any Christians here of the First Commandment.) How is the "Allah" in this song distinguished from the Muslim "Allah," or for that matter Zeus, Odin, or Vishnu?

- I know (personally) people from ethnically Muslim countries who write music in Arabic styles and languages to teach the Gospel. That's fantastic. However, their songs are specifically about the Gospel, the God of the Bible (the Injil if you like), and this man named JESUS. This album doesn't appear to make any mention at all of the founder of Christianity. Heck, I'd settle for a decent worship song to "Isa Massih" right about now. Contextualization is fine, but only if in the context you're giving the actual message.

- The lyrics given are no more theologically specific, and incomparably less well-written, than George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" (which starts out with "Hallelujah" and ends up with "Hare Krishna"). For that matter, what are they going on about? "In every blade of grass It doesn't matter what you done"? That's borderline inane.

- My problem is not with somebody using the word "Allah," it's with them marketing it to us as a specifically Christian song. I see no evidence of that and some to the contrary.

- Now that we've seen this, how long will it be until we see (and see defended) a Christian label release "Zeus, Zeus, Zeus"?

I've been talking for years about the death of Christian music. Now I've seen it. We now have a Christian song by a Christian band that not only doesn't mention Jesus Christ, it explicitly leaves wide open the question of which god it's talking about at all. Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, in furore.

1. Aaron Weiss is my ideal man, so I'm probably a bit bias.
2. I see no problem with this. "Allah" means "G-d" in Arabic, like many others have pointed out. No freaks out when English speakers call Jesus "Yeshua" (or maybe they do.. just not in my circle of acquaintances) Also, Aaron's mom is Muslim, which is probably the reason he uses a lot of Arabic in his music. Regardless of what words he's using, his lyrics are absolutely beautiful.

@Pass_the_Aura@xanga - I don't think mwY ever claims to be a "Christian" band (which, if you think about it, it's pretty silly to use Christian as an adjective. Do you call Christian plumbers or get your Christian gas for your Christian Hummer from Christian gas stations?). What's more, who cares of "Christian" music dies? We'd all be better off in the long run without cheap imitations of much better "secular" music out there. Also, I wasn't aware that "Christian" bands had to mention Jesus in every single song they have. Someone should probably go tell Relient K or half of the big time "Christian" rock bands about that.

the reason i would  feel odd listening to this is while "Allah" is the word for the name of the Islamic god, the association of the word is not the "Christian" God. 

I dunno .. just my $.02 I agree with what @Pass_the_Aura@xanga is saying, why not have a song that talks about Zeus or Vishnu, afterall those are the name of god in those religions ...

@sierrraa@xanga - then they should have no problem using Yahweh I suppose ... it all comes down to the fact that the God if Islam is not the God of Christianity even though they share a similar history.

Question for all you versed out there, isn't Illah the word for God in arabic? Isn't Allah just a referring to "the god?" and doesn't the islamic prayer end with "there is no other god than god?" (Illah than Allah)??

I really doubt they are referring to God the Father in that case.

@Theophilus166@xanga - Very well stated. 

I do wish people (including myself for sure) would begin to use God's "Real" name-- but there are very few teachings of His real name to the point that if I were challenged to list off His "real" names I could probably only list 3 or 4-- and with using His name correctly, we would also have to learn to use them appropriately.

All that to say, culturally speaking, I am uncomfortable, but not really offended.  I just wouldn't use it.

@Theophilus166@xanga - I'm pretty sure they never meant this to be a song sung in churches or anything. Since they don't bill themselves as a "christian" band, why would it matter what word they use? Like I said in another response, those who have been and are fans of mewithoutYou know Who Aaron is referring to. I like that he uses Arabic in a lot of their songs. It's a very beautiful language. 

I've never really understood why people try so hard to disassociate the God of Islam from Christianity from Judaism. When's the last time a Christian tried to claim that the God of Judaism was mythical? The speeches of Muhammad demand that the followers of Islam respect the other two monotheisms (Christianity and Islam). Islam treats Jesus as the greatest of God's prophets (though they consider the foundational concept of Christianity--the divinity of Christ--to be blasphemous). The lay over between the faiths are so numerous that to make the claim that "Allah" is mythical is to claim that "Yahweh" is mythical is to make the claim that "Jehovah" is mythical, etc...

Historically, Muhammad studied both Christianity and Judaism while he was on his trade routes. To argue in the way some of the people here are arguing shows a profound level of ignorance. Even if you are to use references--from authors who more than obviously have an ulterior motive--to try and give authority to your opinions, the absence of historical locality apparent in those quotes will inevitably undermine your argument.

Most importantly, these kinds of linguistic arguments are completely vain from a divine perspective. Languages were imposed upon mankind due to our own mistakes. I imagine that language is entirely moot to God who hears not our words but our "heart."

That said, get off your self-righteous high horses and start using that heart of yours to love and not divide.

I think Aaron probably meant to stir up some controversy and get people thinking - who is God? Who is Allah? This is probably the kind of discussion he hoped people would have, and he probably hoped that some of those people would realize that if God is everywhere, in everything, than different people, with different understandings of Him, can worship him together, even if the theology differs. I for one am ready to accept its theological implications knowing that God's thoughts are higher than mine, yours, or anyone else's.

To say that Allah is or isn't our God is to say we do or do not possess Him. Neither of which, and both of which, are true.

If you avoid the name "Allah" for its implications that He wears a turban, you should also avoid the name "God" for its implications that He hates gays.