Across Asia: Malaysia

Prayer room attacked

Vandals tried to torch a Muslim prayer room in Malaysia yesterday, police said, one of the few attacks on an Islamic place of worship after nearly a dozen churches were firebombed amid a dispute over the use of the word "Allah" by Christians.

Religious tensions have risen after a court ruled Dec 31 that non-Muslims can use "Allah" as a translation for God in the Malay language. Many among the country's ethnic Malay Muslim majority believe the word should be exclusive to Muslims, and that its use by others could confuse some Muslims and even entice them to convert.

Since Jan 8, there have been assaults on 11 churches, a Sikh temple and a mosque - mostly by unknown assailants using firebombs. Police this week arrested eight suspects believed to have orchestrated the most serious attack, which partially gutted a church in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's largest city.

(China Daily 01/22/2010 page11)