The Sunday Times, January 9, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR: Three churches were hit by arson attacks early yesterday, with one badly damaged, amid a raging row over the use of the word 'Allah' to refer to the Christian God.
The attacks came hours before a planned rally by several Muslim groups to protest against the use of 'Allah' by the Christians. The rallies went on later after Friday prayers at 10 mosques nationwide.
No one was injured in the attacks, and police have yet to determine the parties responsible.
Prime Minister Najib Razak ordered security to be stepped up at churches and other places of worship nationwide.
'I condemn these actions because they will destroy our country's harmony,' he said at a press conference yesterday.
He commented in his blog later: 'This incident that tried to split us, and others like them, do not represent Malaysia or Islam. They do not represent our families, our society, or efforts to strengthen the 1Malaysia concept.'
Tension has been high since the High Court's ruling on Dec 31 permitting the Catholic church's newspaper to use 'Allah' to refer to the Christian God. The church had argued that the word was a generic Arabic term for God, while many Malaysian Muslims believe it should be exclusive to Islam.
The government has appealed against the decision, which is currently suspended.
Malaysia's King, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, in a statement yesterday evening called on everyone to have mutual respect for places of worship and to safeguard the spirit of unity.
'To ensure peace and harmony between adherents of the different religions, the meaning and general reference to the word 'Allah' should be in accordance with attributes that have been decided by Islam as the practice has for so long been accepted well by people of other faiths in Malaysia,' the King said.
The worst damage was sustained by the Metro Tabernacle Church in Kuala Lumpur. Its ground floor was gutted.
According to a church lay leader Peter Yeow, witnesses saw a group of youths on motorcycles smashing the glass panels on the ground floor and hurling the explosives inside.
The Assumption Catholic church in Petaling Jaya reported that a homemade explosive was thrown into its compound at about 4am but it did not go off.
At the third church, the Life Chapel in Petaling Jaya, a Molotov cocktail was found in the compound, and its porch suffered minor damage. Church elder Wong Sai Weng told The Straits Times that he discovered the attack at about 8.30am.
But rumours continued to circulate all day about more church attacks and even attacks on vehicles with Christian symbols. The police said these were untrue, and that there were only three attacks.
There were no interruptions to daily activities in Kuala Lumpur, and the situation remains calm.
Police chief Musa Hassan said they had identified a suspect in the Metro Tabernacle attack, and were looking for him. He also said the attacks were 'not well-planned'.
'It was people who were emotional, who got on a motorbike and threw the bottle with petrol into the church,' he said.
The attacks on the church have been roundly condemned by Malaysians.
Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, who visited the Metro Tabernacle Church, said the act of destroying places of worship cannot be defended.
'If there are Muslims responsible for this incident, they should feel ashamed and repent because Islam clearly demands that its followers respect the religious freedom of non-Muslims,' he said.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said such acts were not accepted by the Quran. Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) president Hadi Awang also said attacks on places of worship were against Islam, and could only have been carried out by those who did not know the religion.
Other Muslims who visited the affected churches included Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, daughter of former premier Mahathir Mohamad, and several Pakatan Rakyat leaders such as Selangor chief minister Khalid Ibrahim.
However, the planned protest rallies over the 'Allah' issue went on at 10 mosques nationwide. Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said there were four protests in Selangor, three in Kuala Lumpur, two in Pahang and one in Terengganu.
The protesters brought banners with slogans such as 'Don't pawn Malay pride for personal political gain' and 'Heresy arises from words wrongly used'. They listened to speeches by speakers of various Malay non-governmental organisations. There were no arrests.
Meanwhile, several Malaysians have moved to organise 'goodwill' activities to calm things down.
Ms Marina said a group of Muslims planned to help clean up the Metro Tabernacle Church once the police allows it.
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