The counter-intuitive restrictions on Allah: my God or your God

A longstanding and totally nonsensical struggle has opposed Muslims and Christians in Malaysia over the usage of the word Allah in prayer. Malay and other Arab-speaking Christians have used the word Allah for centuries to refer to God; this makes sense, because in Arabic, Allah means 'the God' (Allah is a contraction of al ilah, the God). Although Muslims believe that there is only one God, Allah, they obtained a Malaysian high-court decision that forbids the use of Allah by Christians. Thus the high-court rejects an earlier appeal by Christians, based on the fact that the word Allah predates Islam by thousands of years (first written evidence of the usage of the word Allah comes from Babylonian tablets form 1700 BCE). When will we realise that we all prey to the same God? Should Christians try to obtain a ruling that forbids the usage of the word 'God' by non-Christians?

Free the Nelson Mandela in you

As political leaders and other influential figures gather in the FNB stadium in Soweto to pay homage to Nelson Mandela, they should also start to free their Inner Nelson in their future decision making. Mandela, just as many other famous leaders (including Ghandi, or even Mohammad or Jesus, if you wish) have proven that peace and forgiveness are more successful than violence and punishment. World leaders, don't just remember Mandela today, remember him each time you make decisions.