Similarities between Islam and Catholicism

Islam	Catholicism
Muslim women have their tudung	Catholic Nuns have their veils
When one Muslim greets another, they place their hands on their forehead	Have you seen Catholics bending down to kiss the Pope’s Fisherman Ring? Yea, same action
Muslim men have their Songkok, whether black or white.	Catholic clerics have their zucchetto, priest wears black, bishop wears purple, cardinals wear red, Pope wears white
Muslims greet one another by saying, Assalamuailaikum	Catholics (not all) greets one another by saying Peace be with you.
Muslims have a string or beads called Tasbih and is either 99 or 33 beads long	Catholics have a string of beads called the Rosary.
Muslims have Ramadhan, their fasting month.	Catholics have Lent.

In this week’s Catholic news, there is an article that draws my attention. This article is about the PAS(Party Islam SeMalaysia) Representative addressing Catholic’s concern on Religion. Presently in Malaysia, the use of the word “Allah” in forbidden in any religion outside of Islam. The PAS representative states that in Arabic, Allah means God. Allah comes from the word ‘Al Illah’, ‘Illah’ means something you worship. Al Illah means ‘the item you worship’. He states that Allah can be used in religions outside Islam as Allah simply means God.

In Malaysia, the use of the words ‘Assalamuailaikum (Peace)’ is forbidden outside Islam. But the PAS representative says, it is not a problem for Non-Muslims to use it, as it just means Peace be with you.