http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8343626.stm

Malaysia withholds ‘Allah Bibles’

The Malaysian government has refused to release 10,000 Bibles which it seized because they contained the word Allah to refer to God.

The government, which is dominated by Muslim Malays, claims that the word Allah is Islamic and that its use in Bibles could upset Muslims.

The Roman Catholic Church is challenging the ban in court.

Religion has become highly sensitive in Malaysia, where about two-thirds of the population is Muslim.

Religious minorities have accused the government of undermining their rights.

The government has impounded Bibles before, intercepting 5,000 in March as they were imported from Indonesia.

Church officials say that although the word Allah originated in Arabic, Malays have used it for centuries to refer generally to God, and Arabic-speaking Christians used it before Islam was founded.

The Christian Federation of Malaysia said the religious freedom guaranteed by the Malaysian constitution was meaningless if people were denied Bibles which used their own language.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God

Hinduism
See also: Sahasranama, Kirtana, and Japa
For an example refer to: Hare Krishna
Radha and Krishna Venerated within several traditions of Hinduism as the Supreme God, svayam bhagavan and his shakti, or as manifestations thereof. Referred to by the popular recitation of the holy names.

Within Hinduism, there are number of names of God which are generally in Sanskrit, each supported by a different tradition within the religion. Brahman, Bhagavan, Ishvara, and Paramatma are among the most commonly used terms for God in the scriptures of Hinduism.

  * Bhagwan (Bhagwan) means “God”.
  * Ishvara (??vara) means “Cosmic Controller” or “Lord”.
  * Maheshvara (mah?-??vara) means “Great Lord”, used as an attribute of god Shiva.
  * Parameshvara (parama-??vara) means “Supreme Lord”.
  * Paramatman (parama-?tman) means “Supreme Soul”.
  * Para Brahman (para-brahma), an ineffable entity, best translated as “The Absoute Truth”, Supreme Brahman, or Supreme Cosmic Spirit.
  * Adi Purusha (?di-puru?a) means “Timeless Being”, “Primordial Lord”, “First Person”.
  * Vishnu is seen as Para Brahman within Vaishnava traditions, and the Vishnu Sahasranama enumerates 1000 names of Vishnu, each name eulogizing one of His countless great attributes. The names of Vishnu’s Dasavatara in particular are considered divine names.
  * Krishna (K???a) is associated with Vishnu and certain Vaishnava traditions also regard Him as Para Brahman and Svayam Bhagavan (svayambhagav?n) or the Lord Himself.[1] In Krishna-centered schools of Vaishnavism, which includes the Nimbarka, Vallabha and Caitanya schools Krishna is held as the Supreme Personality of Godhead[2] based on the descriptions of Him within the Bhagavata Purana and Mahabharata, with particular reference to the Bhagavad-Gita.[3]
  * Rama (R?ma) is associated with Vishnu and is especially venerated in bhakti literature, such as that of Kabir and Ravidas, and more recently in the writings of Mohandas Gandhi.

[edit] Sikhism
Main article: God in Sikhism

There are multiple names for God in Sikhism. Some of the popular names for God in Sikhism are:

  * Waheguru, meaning Wonderful Teacher bringing light to remove darkness, this name is considered the greatest among Sikhs, and it is known as “Gurmantar”, the Guru’s Word.
  * Ek Onkar, ek meaning “one”, emphasizes the singularity of God. It is the beginning of the Sikh Mool Mantra.
  * Satnam meaning True Name, some are of the opinion that this is a name for God in itself, others believe that this is an adjective used to describe the “Gurmantar”, Waheguru (See below)
  * Nirankar, meaning formless One

God according to Guru Nanak is beyond full comprehension by humans; has endless number of virtues; takes on innumerable forms; and can be called by an infinite number of names thus “Your Names are so many, and Your Forms are endless. No one can tell how many Glorious Virtues You have.”[4]
[edit] Semitic religions
[edit] Judaism
Main article: Names of God in Judaism

In the Hebrew scriptures the Jewish name of God is considered sacred and, out of deep respect for the name, Jews do not say the name of God and do not erase it if it is written. (See Exodus 20:7) The tetragrammaton (Hebrew: ????, English: YHVH or YHWH) is the name for the group of four Hebrew letters which represent the name of God. The Tetragrammaton occurs 6,828 times in the Hebrew text in the Biblia Hebraica and the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Neither vowels nor vowel points were used in ancient Hebrew writings.

Some claim the pronunciation of YHWH has been lost, other authorities say it has not and that it is pronounced Yahweh. References, such as The New Encyclop

Christianity
Main article: Names of God in Christianity

Many Christians refer to God simply as “God”.

The names Yahweh and Jehovah, based on the tetragrammaton, are also used. Jehovah appears in Tyndale’s Bible, the King James Version, and other translations from that time period and later. Many translations of the Bible translate the tetragrammaton as LORD, following the Jewish practice of substituting the spoken Hebrew word ‘Adonai’ (translated as ‘Lord’) for YHWH when read aloud.[6] Some[who?] avoid using either Yahweh or Jehovah altogether on the basis that the actual pronunciation of the tetragrammaton has been lost in antiquity. They use God or The Lord instead.[citation needed] Similarly, the original Hebrew pronunciation of “Jesus” is unknown.

Jesus (Iesus, Yeshua, Joshua, or Yehosh

Turkic religion: Tengri

  * Tengri, also used to refer to the sky, is the one God of many Turkic ethnic groups in China, Mongolia, and the Near East, a practice now called Tengri. Tengri is built upon on the existence of one God. It was the official religion of The G

There’s also the traditional saying that ‘No matter his hardships, the camel can smile, for he knows the thousandth, and final name of God’.

We used to have a button on one of Tubby’s sun visor’s that said, “God is too big to fit inside one religion”. 

I always thought it was the kind of thing Tubby would have said he were able to talk.

It seems to me that this is yet another case of political correctness gone amok.

Pretty soon the “Thought Police” will be empowered to fine or imprison you when it seems you might be “reasonable expected to be thinking offensive thoughts.”

Urgle.

*signs a warrant to have Daveprime arrested and locked away*

Accipiter - 05 November 2009 10:22 PM

*signs a warrant to have Daveprime arrested and locked away*

“

NOooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!”

Span shot upwards from closeup from face and to close up of fists shaking in defiance to God and all powers that be…..

Bebe

*signs a warrant to have Bebelicious taken to a nice quiet padded room and sedated for her own good. . .and for our own good*

Rats!! I’ve been ‘Outed’!!

*thinks passive thoughts of peace and harmony*

*hopes the thought police buy it*

As a Christian I really believe any Government has no place getting mixed up in religion of any sort. Of course the normal laws of the land should still apply to any religious group but this just seems like a classic case of why Government should not get involved in such things.

To me Government should be a secular institution. That’s not to say politicians shouldn’t belong to any religious group but the running of government should not be under the influence of religion. I believe in the separation of Church and State.