Muslims encounter all kinds of problems from Americans, and particularly American Christians. Not the least of which is the American distaste for the Arabic word for God, Allah. The word Allah has become connected solely with Islam itself, and therefore when the word is used, all kinds of unpleasant images are evoked in the American mind.
Bu we should know that Allah has been used by Arab Christians for centuries. And Allah is contained in ancient Arabic translations of the Scriptures.
While there several theories of the etymologic derivation of “Allah”, these theories are irrelevant to its present day usage.
The question then arises as to our understanding of the character of the Islamic Allah versus the Christian Allah. Is it the same God each refers to? And that’s the real issue.
