Here is Why Words Matter: “Allahu Akbar” vs. “God is Great”

The name of the black man suspected of fatally shooting 3-white people in Fresno, California is Kori Ali Muhammad.  When the police were taking him into custody, he shouted an all-too-familiar phrase in the world of radical Islam – “Allahu Akbar.”

This is how the Associated Press (AP) described what Muhammad said: “Fresno police say suspect in triple slaying told them he hates white people, shouted ‘God is great’ before killings.”  But wait a minute.  Where is the truth in reporting?  The Fresno Police Chief actually said Muhammad yelled “Allahu Akbar” – not “God is great.”  So why would a trusted news organization like AP change what he said … but for the connotation?

Don’t we deserve the truth — not politically correct copy edits?

If a man yells “Allahu Akbar” after gunning down innocent fellow Americans, we don’t want the watered-down, fake-news version – do we?  Don’t we want the cold, hard truth?

I can assure you “Allahu Akbar” is very different from “God is great” in many ways … especially when the shooting took place outside a Catholic Charities facility.

Millions of families across America say “God is great” before they dig into their meals.  I grew up saying: “God is great, God is good; and we thank Him for our food.  By His hands we all are feed.  Thank You, Lord, for our daily bread.”

That’s not the same as an Islamic terrorists shouting “Allahu Akbar” before committing Jihad.

Context matters.  Words matter.  Get it right, AP.

Robert Spencer at Breitbart put it this way in an article from 2015 on this exact topic:

“Media outlets routinely mangle the true meaning of ‘Allahu Akbar,’ the ubiquitous battle cry of Islamic Jihadists as they commit mass murder.  The war-cry is mistranslated in the Western media as ‘God is great.’  But the actual meaning is ‘Allah is greater,’ meaning ‘Allah is greater than Your God or government.’  It is the aggressive declaration that Allah and Islam are dominant over every other form of government, religion, law or ethic, which is why Islamic Jihadists in the midst of killing infidels so often shout it.  One primary purpose of shouting is to ‘strike terror in the hearts of the enemies of Allah.”

In terms of its connotation, then, “Allahu Akbar” can mean just about anything — except the one phrase it is most often rendered as in English – “God is great.”

Let’s be clear: The Judeo-Christian command to have no other gods before Jehovah God – the One and Only True God – makes clear that the Islamic god called Mohammad is a false god … just as false as the AP’s reporting of this Fresno murder.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel