Churches firebombed in Malaysia over 'Allah' row

FOUR churches have been firebombed in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, after religious tensions were ratcheted up over the use of the word “Allah” in Malay to describe the Christian God.

Many Malay Muslims, who make up 60 per cent of the country's population of 28 million, are outraged by the High Court's decision which overturns a ban on Roman Catholics using "Allah" as a translation for God in the Malay-language edition of their main newspaper, the Herald.

The newspaper is mainly read by tribespeople in the Borneo island states of Sabah and Sarawak, who speak only Malay and have for decades referred to God as “Allah”, an Arabic word used not only by Muslims but also by Christians in Muslim-majority countries such as Egypt, Syria and Indonesia. The government says the term is exclusive to the Muslim faith and by extension to Malays. Many Malaysian Muslims say its use by others would mislead people, tempting them to convert to Christianity.

Maintaining the delicate balance between the majority Malay Muslim population and the minority ethnic Chinese and Indian populations who practise a range of religions including Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism, has always been a challenge in Malaysia.

While many Indians and Christians are fearful of being overwhelmed by the majority religion, the various religious and ethnic groups have largely lived in peace since the country experienced deadly race riots in 1969.

Home minister Hishammuddin Hussein sought to calm fears and said the country’s leaders were concerned about the situation.

“We don’t want this to spread out into something else . . . I am not only assuring the minorities, I am assuring all Malaysians – anybody who is in Malaysia – that they are safe,” he said.

There have been plenty of threats, anti-Christian rhetoric and vitriol on the internet since the verdict, but the firebombings mark a new escalation in the controversy.

The first attack saw the office on the ground floor of the Metro Tabernacle Church, a three-storey building, destroyed by a firebomb thrown by attackers on motorcycles. The area reserved for worship was undamaged. Three other churches were attacked subsequently, with one place of worship sustaining minor damage while the others were undamaged. No arrests have yet been made.