William Shakespeare has been lauded as the greatest writer on planet Earth just as Albert Einstein acknowledged as the greatest scientific mind. If thou art UNABLE to quote at least one Shakespearean famous lines, then thou art an IGnoramus in English Lit. (Lit is short for Literaure lah, why the raised eyebrow?)
So today -- unlike Yesterday, and last Saturday when 150,000 more or less gathered at the historic Merdeka Stadium, when ALL OUR TROUBLES SEEM'D SO FAR AWAY... --I share some background amidst the current controversy on the use of the word "ALLAH" which has been making reprises/reprisals on the multi-ethnic and mutli-religious NegaraKu, my beloved homeland, I just extract the famous line, as HIGHLIGHTED THUS***** in the extract below from phrases.org.uk:)~~~~~~
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet
Meaning
What matters is what something is, not what it is called.
Origin
From Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, 1600:
JULIET:
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.
A story, much favoured by tour guides, and as such highly suspect, is that in this line Shakespeare was also making a joke at the expense of the Rose Theatre. The Rose was a local rival to his Globe Theatre and is reputed to have had less than effective sanitary arrangements. The story goes that this was a coy joke about the smell. This certainly has the whiff of folk etymology about it, but it might just be true.
From the knotty NST online, always acting as Eco-chamber to His Master's Voice, cometh this, repeated oft attack on PAS and its leaders:(~~~~
ABOUT-TURN: Nik Aziz changes his mind to appease Pas Syura Council
KOTA BARU: IN a move seen to appease the Pas Syura Council, party spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat yesterday made an about-turn on the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims.
He said devotees of other religions, including Christianity and Hinduism, were not allowed to refer to God as "Allah" as they were polytheistic individuals who prayed to "multiple Gods".
Nik Aziz insisted that the word "Allah" was exclusive to Muslims as they believed in His Oneness.
"If followers of other religions insist on using the word 'Allah' as the name of their various gods, it will defile the sanctity of the word," he said at Sultan Ismail Petra Airport in Pengkalan Chepa here.
Nik Aziz added that should individuals insist on using the word "Allah" to describe their God, they should also acknowledge that there was only one God they could worship and pray to.
"It is absurd for devotees of a polytheistic religion, who believe in more than one God, to use the word 'Allah' to describe them. Why is there the need to call their God 'Allah' when they believe in many gods?"
He, however, admitted that it would be difficult to restrain people of other faiths from using "Allah" in their religious practices.
Nik Aziz had previously agreed that non-Muslims should be allowed to use the word although its use was, in principle, limited to Muslims.
+++++The Syura Council, which is the supreme decision-making body in Pas, had on Sunday unanimously decided that non-Muslims were forbidden from using "Allah" in their holy books.
Nik Aziz, who is Syura Council chief, later issued a statement on behalf of the council, making it clear that any translation of "Allah" would not reflect the real meaning of the sacred word.
The controversy surrounding the use of the word "Allah" resurfaced after DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, in a Christmas message, urged the government to allow Christians to use the word in the Bahasa Melayu version of the Bible.
Read more: 'Allah for Muslims only' - General - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/allah-for-muslims-only-1.201482#ixzz2I11GhjMs
DESIDERATA: I strongly believe that ONE LINER from Shakespeare is the BEST REBUTTAL to the Islamic extremists. Please note Tok Guru Nik Aziz said, and I quote, HIGHLIGHTED THUS IN RED AGAIN: : "He, however, admitted that it would be difficult to restrain people of other faiths from using "Allah" in their religious practices."
Taken in context, along with this line, +++++The Syura Council, which is the supreme decision-making body in Pas, had on Sunday unanimously decided that non-Muslims were forbidden from using "Allah" in their holy books.I believe we may continue to use this word in verbal form, but not as now advised by the PAS leaders in WRITTEN form as in BM version of the bible.
I have oft told my EsteemedReaders (ER) here I would continue my comments in my posts that I would where I temp (for temporarily lah, why the raised eyebrow agin?) left off that I would come back to writHe more/aMore, InsyaAllah/Godwilling... Is there anybody out there/dare who wants to censure Desi?
Hey, as I say,m we ain't going to have the government, especially misguided UMNO-led authorities to control even our thoughts next -- I would continue to have "dirty" thoughts when watching SMASH (now being replayed over Ch 702, for those who missed it...) visualising the contours of Marilyn M in their most beguiling forms --IS THAT A CRIME? -- although Katharine McPhee reprising MMonroe's part DID NOT GIVE IN TO THE DIRECTOR'S SEDUCTION when she sang ""Happy Birthday to You (Mr President) when the director invited the naive actress over for a nightcap to enhance her chances of getting the plum role...Ah, Desi will continueto visualise the curves and voluptiousness of the ORI MARILYN, would thesethought-police that UMNO-extremist holier than thou types be able to "read my thoughts" and charge me in court for THINKING DIRTY?
Till that day cometh, Desi would continue to say, InsyaAllah, I would come back to writHe more/aMore!:)
PS: updateD Jan 16 at 1009PM ~~~ I believe it's the EGO that drives many religious leaders to argue and debate and finally hoping to win the "debate" like one's absolute ownership of using the term "Allah" for God -- but then this defeatys the whole purpose of SPIRITUAL SANCTITY, IS IT NOT? It is not ours to try to be ONE UP ON OUR OPPONENTS; I guess HUMILITY is always held in high esteem in ALL RELIGIOUS TEACHINGS, is it not? That explains WHY often bigots often SEE THE SPECH IN THE NEIGHBOUR'S EYE, BUT NOT THE BEAM IN ONE'S OWN! I have often been PUT OFF by many preachers, of whatever faith, BECAUSE THEY ARE DOGMATIC AND INTO:LERANT OF REASONING and DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW.
Hey, it's no point APPEARING HOLY&MIGHTY but in real life, you don't even walk 20percent of what you preach! Ah, like politicians, innit? And itsn't it the politicains are wasting the people's time spewing out polemics and wanupmanship over their opponents?
I think I will rst here because as I said befoe, I don't enjoy treading into THIS TERRORTRY of religious discourse. At the end of day, it is still Man Proposes, God Disposes. Sometimes Desi adds: "Woeman XXposes", but you wanna know what I mean, buy me endless rounds of tehtari' at De Miang Koner, CUN?
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