Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Here's What 'Allahu Akbar' Really Means

Daily Wire


. . . "When the terrorist (ISIS, an Islamic extremist group, has claimed responsibility) jumped from the vehicle, witnesses say he yelled, "Allahu akbar!" CNN likes to translate this phrase as meaning "God is great." The New York times does, too, as in this passage from its front-page story on Wednesday, when it said the terrorist "ran up and down the highway waving a pellet gun and paintball gun and shouting “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great...."

"But it doesn't mean that — not by a longshot.

" 'Allahu akbar" means, literally, "Allah is greater." But the elative tense in Arabic is somewhat flexible, so it can also mean "Allah is greatest." Either way, though, there is no generic deity — it isn't just "God." No, Allah is explicit in the phrase and means, literally, "Allah" — not "God."

" 'The translation of the phrase is often rendered as 'God is Great,' but when you unpack the term you quickly realize that it is much more than a simple expression," The Jerusalem Post wrote. "After all, a simple expression would never do as the last words a Muslim speaks while maiming and murdering innocents.' " . . .

Joseph Curl has covered politics for 30 years, working as the White House correspondent for The Washington Times from 1998-2010 and then as a columnist. He also ran the Drudge Report for four years as the a.m. editor. He'll watch things you don't want to watch — like Rep. Nancy Pelosi's Thursday presser and sometimes Rachel Maddow's really awful show — and tell you about them. It's his job.

No comments: