Commingled Religious Roots

Reading “Did Jesus Pray to Allah?” made me think about the millions of Spanish-speaking Christians who invoke the name of Allah by using the Spanish word ojalá, and Portuguese-speakers who use oxalá. Both are derived from the Arabic Insha’Allah which means “if Allah wills it” and are left over from 800 years of Muslim control of the Iberian Peninsula. In common parlance it means “hopefully,” and nowadays it’s a reminder that our commingled religious roots go deep. We should never let words (Allah, God) divide us, especially now.

Richard Mier
Martinsburg, West Virginia