Quote Originally Posted by Hanna View Post
I hope we haven't scared off Misha Tal (who started the thread) with all this talk about Christianity.
Not in the least!

You see, there are such things as "mid-term exams". And one might happen to have to take four of them in a row. During these delightful days, I don't shave, eat, drink, sleep, nothing. I just study to death! That's the only reason I've been away.

Actually, I'm not a very good representative of Muslims, because I'm not an especially religious person. And I don't enjoy playing the devil's advocate in religious discussions (indeed, in any discussion). I find other forum members' opinions very interesting, and in many cases I feel obliged to modify my own beliefs.

The initial post of this thread had little to do with religion in the abstract sense. But I'm glad about the turn the discussion has taken. I'll throw in my own two cents in a later post. Just to answer your own question about the word "Allah":

I have a very modest knowledge of the Arabic language, but this much I know for certain: in Arabic "al" is a definite article, like the English "the". The word "Elah" means "god", so "Allah" is something like a proper noun [The God], used to indicate a God other than other gods. And yes, Muslims, Jews and Christians all worship the same God. All Abrahamic religions have the same origin. But that doesn't keep the believers from religious hatred.