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POTATO HEAD ROXON
A DUTCH Catholic bishop who advocates condom use and says the poor are entitled to steal bread has created another controversy, this time by suggesting God should be called Allah.
"Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will call God Allah?'' Bishop Tiny Muskens said in an interview broadcast this week.
"God doesn't care what we call him.''
Bishiop Muskens, of the southern Diocese of Breda, previously created a stir by suggesting the hungry could steal bread to feed themselves.
He also supported the use of condoms as a way of reining in the spread of AIDS and suggested popes have term limits of 10-15 years and an age limit of 85.
In an interview on the current affairs show Netwerk on Monday, Bishop Muskens said he had worked in Indonesia where God was referred to as Allah in Christian services.
A spokesman for one of the capital's leading mosques said he was not happy with the idea.
"We didn't ask for this, a spokesman for the Moroccan Mosque in Amsterdam told De Telegraaf.
"Now it is as if we have a problem between Muslims and Christians.''
Gerrit de Fijter, chairman of the General Synod of the Dutch Protestant Church, also rejected Bishop Muskens' suggestion.
"I applaud every attempt to encourage dialogue with Muslims, but I doubt the sense of this maneuver,'' he told De Telegraaf.
Speaking overnight, Bishop Muskens said he was pleased his comments had sparked debate.
"That they are interested in how to get along with God, that is a positive result,'' he told Omroep Brabant.
YAH 4 ALLAH
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22254040-13762,00.html