Just when I thought I was out, they drag me back in.

A lot of people have been bugging me to hear my thoughts on the whole "Allah" thing. Which is both flattering and kinda weird, but okay. So here goes: I don't really care either way.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I think firebombing churches are stupid and very close to being acts of terrorism when you think about it. (If you're a Muslim in the West and you're throwing Molotov cocktails at churches, then it will be terrorism. Trust me on this.) Actually, okay, this is the part about the controversy that I genuinely care about: I desperately wish we Muslims could protest over something we don't like and not look like insane people. Is that too much to ask?

But use it, don't use it, who gives a shit, really. Yes, a lot of people, including those whose opinions I usually respect and really should know better, like to say that it's a conspiracy to confuse young Muslims or whatever. Which is fucking retarded, because there are already laws against converting Muslims in this country.

There's the sense of ownership issue, in which "Allah" belongs to Muslims and nowhere else. Except for all the historical evidence that suggests that the word "Allah" actually predates Islam. Except that technically it's not the same Allah. It's complicated.

All of which is utterly pointless and I really could not care less. Except that I've already written 200-plus words and counting, so, er, I guess I do on some level. But anyway. Use "Allah", don't use it. What do I care?

Though I do find it amusing that so many people are suddenly caring about the issue and saying that they should have the right to use the word "Allah", when no one cared until now. Tell people they can't do something, they'll scream at the top of their lungs for their right to do it. Look at me for example. I didn't want to write about this at all, until my mom pointed a finger at me and warned me not to write about it. So I sure showed her!

(I'm so, so sorry, Ma.)

And another thing that annoys me about this: it puts me in a position to agree with Mahathir. International press hasn't been kind to Malaysia over this issue, and they shouldn't be. But Switzerland bans minarets and no one so much as shook a fist in outrage. As a Muslim, that annoys me. Though Mahathir naturally avoids the subject of people firebombing churches. Which is a pretty Mahathir thing to do, actually. Something bad happens in Malaysia, wag your finger at the West, then ignore the problem completely.

But a dialogue probably needs to be done. There's an extreme disconnect, I'm noticing, between Muslims and non-Muslims over this issue. (All anecdotal evidence with no scientific merit, of course.) I hate to say this, but while Muslims can certainly try to chill a little bit and not get all outrage-y all the time, I don't think non-Muslims are doing enough to understand Malay Muslims. To them it's just a word. To a lot of Malays, it's so much more than that.

(523 words. I must really not care about this.)