Allah Hafez vs. Khoda Hafez
I am writing in reference to the letter written by Mr. SN Mamoon on May 1. A year of debate has taken place in Pakistan on this issue of Khoda or Allah Hafez. Mr. Mamoon has stressed that it is not in our so called 'culture or tradition' to say Allah with Hafez and according to him- 'deviating from our age old culture is unnecessary'. 'Culture' seems to have become the most important element while trying to identify with our lost selves, in this time and age. That's a topic for another debate- religion first or race or creed first? The word 'Allah' to the best of my knowledge has existed since Prophet Ibrahim's (Pbuh) time or even before that. Thus, Jews and Christians call upon Him as 'Elohim' & 'Eloah' or ' Eloh'. As Muslims, we would appreciate Allah being referred as 'ALLAH' rather than 'Khoda'. He himself has written that 'Allah Hafez' is grammatically correct, then why is he objecting to it?* * *
This is in response to the letter "Allah/Khoda Hafez" by SN Mamoon on 1 May. For your information, culture is a not a stagnant pond, it is an ever flowing river. Discarding wrong or false tradition and accepting the right ones enrich it.
What I would like to say is that only biased people could think that one of our past rulers tried to show solidarity with or please the Pakistani regime.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. There is absolutely no reason for any Bangladeshi leader to show solidarity with a Pakistani General on an issue like this.
Monir Uddin Ahmed, Scientific officer, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, Dhaka