Although most often translated as "god is great," Allahu Akbar is Arabic for "god is greater," or "god is greatest."

Allahu Akbar means 'God is the Greatest', meaning that nothing can supersede God or be better than Him. It is a common phrase in Islam and it features in the adhan and prayer. Muslims tend to use it for lots of reasons and to express many emotions.

“On Thursday at about 9 a.m., the Muslims’ call to prayer was made at the Izala [Islamic sect] mosque,” Pamjamo said. “And shortly after that, we saw hundreds of armed Muslims invading the town from all directions, attacking and killing Christians. They were shouting ‘Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar,’ as they were burning properties belonging to Christians.”

"A gunman pointed his weapon at more than a dozen people Friday as he randomly opened fire on drivers and pedestrians in Hollywood. Video shows the gunman calmly pointing his handgun and opening fire on passing cars near Vine Street and Sunset Boulevard near the ArcLight Cinema. The gunman was shouting "Allahu akbar" as he fired".

"Television footage showed a missile soaring into the sky in desert-like terrain, to shouts of Allahu Akbar".

"Loud explosions and gunfire were heard coming from a house on the outskirts of the town of Solo, a known militant stronghold, as well as shouts of Allahu Akbar".

"'Allah Akbar! 'cheered Egyptian Muslims while trampling the remains of dozens of Christians eviscerated in last Friday's suicide bombing. Yet we're assured that the phrase has nothing to do with Islam".

Video taken at the gruesome scene outside a church in Alexandria, Egypt, clearly shows local rubberneckers whooping it up as they shout "Allah Akbar!" — Arabic for "Allah is greatest!" We heard the same celebratory chant from Palestinians and other Muslims around the world as the Twin Towers burned.

The list of Islamic terrorists heard shouting the phrase before launching attacks is long. The 9/11 hijackers themselves screamed "Allah Akbar!" before crashing their planes. More recently, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was heard crying "Allah Akbar!" before massacring 13 fellow soldiers at Fort Hood.

Never mind all that, say apologists intent on separating Islam from terror. The expression is benign, they insist.

"The guy who gets up on the plane and says 'Allah!' or whatever and then blows the plane up is not making a statement about his faith," American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee head James Zogby said last year, speaking to congressional staffers.

Zogby says it's more an expression of frustration, like Christians blurting out their Savior's name after accidently hammering their thumb. "Somebody says 'Jesus Christ!' they're not making a statement of faith," he explained. "They're saying, I'm really mad right now."

The comparison is absurd. Muslims say "Allah is greatest" to exalt their God. When Christians mutter "Jesus Christ," they in contrast are taking their Lord's name in vain. There's no corresponding "Jesus Christ is greatest!"

Zogby wins the prize for post-9/11 fig-leafing. He made his remarks in August as a panelist at a little-known Hill forum on the "image of Muslims in America," sponsored by the Congressional Muslim Staff Association, or CMSA. A transcript of the event shows attendees clearly upset over polls showing growing numbers of Americans holding negative views about Islam.

Other panelists included Salam al-Marayati, who was kicked off an anti-terror panel in 1999 by then-House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt for his inflammatory rhetoric. He now watches what he says.

He and other "moderate" Muslim panelists said Americans have it all wrong, that they've been fed "misinformation." They maintained that Islam is "tolerant," that "democracy is at the heart of Islam," and that women who wear the Islamic headscarf are "liberated." They also claimed that the Ground Zero mosque is "actually intended to develop interfaith understanding."

Who's misinforming whom? The moderator noted at the end of the program that CMSA is run by "Mr. J. Saleh Williams." Turns out the "J" stands for Jihad. Williams is a convert to Islam, and that's the name he chose. Of all the Arabic names, that's the one he picked.

Recent reports reveal that these Muslim staffers over the years have invited a parade of radical Muslims to speak on the Hill, including terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki. Now a fugitive The moderator noted at the end of the program that CMSA is run by "Mr. J. Saleh Williams." Turns out the "J" stands for Jihad. Williams is a convert to Islam, and that's the name he chose. Of all the Arabic names, that's the one he picked.

Such disinformation lulls Americans into a false sense of security about the threat from Islamism. That it is allowed to emanate from Congress is an outrage.

After 9/11, the FBI released a letter reportedly handwritten by the hijackers and found in three separate copies on 9/11—at Dulles, at the Pennsylvania crash site, and in Mohamed Atta's suitcase. It included a checklist of final reminders for the 9/11 hijackers. An excerpt reads: "When the confrontation begins, strike like champions who do not want to go back to this world. Shout, 'Allahu Akbar,' because this strikes fear in the hearts of the non-believers."

When in March 2002 Maryam Mohammad Yousif Farhat of Hamas, popularized as "Umm Nidal" (and subsequently elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council) learned that her 17-year-old son had been killed on a suicide mission in which he killed five teenagers, she celebrated by proclaiming "Allahu Akbar!" and giving out boxes of halva and chocolates. In 2003, when Imam Samudra became the second Bali bomber from a violent Islamist group to be sentenced to death for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, Samudra greeted his sentence with chants of "Allahu Akbar".

In 2004, in an execution video of Nick Berg being beheaded in Iraq, as one man sawed off Berg's head the other captors shouted: "Allahu Akbar!". And in the 2007 Fort Dix attack plot, a group of radical Islamists who were convicted of plotting an attack on the Fort Dix military base in New Jersey had videotaped themselves shooting weapons and shouting Allahu Akbar. In 2008, Aafia Siddiqui yelled "Allah Akbar" as she allegedly fired at U.S. interrogators.

During the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, witnesses reported that gunman Nidal Malik Hasan shouted "Allahu Akbar" before opening fire, killing 13 people and wounding 30 others. And Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad smiled and said "Allahu Akbar" after receiving a life sentence in 2010 for his attempted bombing.

During the incident aboard American Airlines Flight 1561, the person attempting to bash his way into the cockpit was heard shouting "Allahu Akbar". Mohammed Merah recorded himself shouting Allahu Akbar as he killed three French paratroopers in the 2012 Midi-Pyrénées shootings
Many 'moderates' and apologists claim it's simply the Arabic translation of a common English phrase meaning "God is great!" However, this is untrue. "Allahu Akbar" does not mean "God is great" as claimed. It actually means "Allah is greater."

English speaking Muslims falsely claim it states "there is no god but God", this is clearly not the case. Allah is not the generic word for 'god' in Arabic, but the name of Islam's deity - at the start of almost every Surah (Chapter) of the Qur'an is the phrase (in part): "In the name of Allah
Islamic claim: 'Allah' is simply the Arab word for 'God.'

Reality: 'God' in Arabic is translated 'ilah,' not 'Allah.'
Islamic claim: 'Akbar' means 'great.'
Reality: 'Akbar' in English is translated 'greater,' not 'great.'

No matter how it's use is attempted to be defined or explained or rationalized, the reality is that to non Muslims the phrase has become a repetitive overused irritant that has not only become disgusting to hear but sends chills down their backs and fills their hearts with fear.