Christain Churches Attacked In Malaysia
In Malaysia, a convent school and a fifth church were attacked on Sunday over Christians’ use of the word “Allah” to refer to God.
According to Reuters, the source of the conflict is a court ruling that allowed a Catholic newspaper to use “Allah” in its Malay-language editions. This prompted Muslims to protest at mosques and sparked arson attacks on four churches that saw one Pentecostalist church gutted.
These violent reprisals are in marked contrast to other Muslim countries like Indonesia, Egypt and Syria where Christian minorities freely use the Arabic word to refer to God.
The attacks threaten Prime Minister Najib Razak’s plan to win back non-Muslim support before elections due by 2013 and may scare investors away from Malaysia that has trailed Thailand and Indonesia for foreign investment, Reuters reported.
In Malaysia, 60% of the 28 million population are Malay Muslim whereas Christians account for 9.1%.
