Originally posted by Sparko
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Before "Western" Christianity expanded Eastwards..."Eastern" Christianity (and Judaism) had used the trade routes to expand eastwards...but this expansion was limited. When these Christian scholars attempted to translate the Bible, they tried to find the most appropriate concept-word for God in that language---for example in Chinese this was "Tao" (initially)....
...By the time Islam came on the scene--- 2 important factors---trade winds and mass production of paper/books....made its expansion very rapid......so it spread to China, the Subcontinent , South East Asia and Australia. ---In some cases, before Christianity appeared.
It came to Malaysia early through trade and was established by the 12th Century with the conversion of one of the Kings (Pra Ong Mahawangsa).. so "Allah" as a concept-word for God in Malay was likely well in use before Christianity came on the scene. That is probably why the Arabic "Allah" was used in translations as the most appropriate word.....
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