Asia-Pacific
More churches attacked in Malaysian Allah feud
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-01-10 15:59
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 Police monitor activities outside the torched Metro Tabernacle church in Kuala Lumpur on January 9, 2010. [Photo/Agencies] |
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Firebombs were thrown at two more churches in Malaysia early on Sunday, the latest in a series of assaults on Christian houses of worship following a court decision that allows non-Muslims to use "Allah" to refer to God.
Hundreds of worshippers whose parish church was partly gutted in the firebomb attack last week gathered at a makeshift prayer hall for their Sunday service and called for national unity and an end to violence.
On Sunday, a Molotov cocktail was hurled at the All Saints Church in Taiping town in central Perak state early in the morning before it had opened, said state police chief Zulkifli Abdullah. He told The Associated Press that the building was not damaged but police found burn marks on the wall.
Four churches were hit by gasoline bombs on Friday and Saturday. All except the Metro Tabernacle, whose parishioners moved their services, suffered little damage, and no one was hurt. The other three held normal services Sunday.
The unprecedented attacks have set off a wave of disquiet among Malaysia's minority Christians and strained their ties with the majority Malay Muslims.
The dispute is over a December 31 High Court decision that overturned a government order banning non-Muslims from using the word "Allah" in their prayers and literature. The court was ruling on a petition by Malaysia's Roman Catholic Church, whose main publication, the Herald, uses the word "Allah" in its Malay-language edition. The government has appealed the verdict.
About 9 percent of Malaysia's 28 million people are Christian, most of whom are ethnic Chinese or Indian. Muslims make 60 percent of the population and most of them are ethnic Malays.
On Sunday, men, women and children from the Metro Tabernacle parish assembled in the cavernous, 1,800-seat meeting hall of the Malaysian Chinese Association party for the service. They lifted their hands and sang "We put all our faith in you," and "You are the God of love and peace" during the Sunday service.
"My wife was worried, but we want to be here to support the church," said Michael Chew, 40, who came to the service with two children, aged 1 and 6.
The service was in English, as are most Christian services in mainland Malaysia though some are in Chinese and Tamil languages. Such services do not use the word "Allah." Only the Malay-language prayers for indigenous tribespeople in the remote states of Sabah and Sarawak use "Allah," as they have for decades.
