Hello, I know this conversation is half a year old, but I wanted to let you know that in Arabic, many people besides Muslims use the word "allah" as a general term for "god," regardless of which god it is.
Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews all use the word "allah" for their god, and some Sikhs and nondenominational/polytheists use the word "allah" as well.
You were correct in your assumption that it has basically the same function as the English word "god," and I'm unsure why some here are claiming otherwise.