KUALA LUMPUR - THREE Malaysian churches have been targeted with firebombs, leaving one badly damaged, in an escalating dispute over the use of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims.
Muslim groups held protests outside 10 mosques across the nation on Friday, enraged by a court ruling last week that gave permission for 'Allah' to be used as a translation for the Christian God.
Police deployed officers to patrol churches and mosques after a church in suburban Kuala Lumpur was set ablaze in a midnight attack that gutted its ground floor. Molotov cocktails were thrown into the compounds of two other churches in pre-dawn raids, but did not cause serious damage.
Prime Minister Najib Razak condemned the attacks which he said could destroy racial harmony in Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country with ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities which has seen racial conflict in the past. 'As a multiracial community we must practice respect for one another... it cannot come under threat from anybody,' he told state media, pledging action to prevent any further incidents.
Police chief Musa Hassan quashed reports of further attacks on churches and cars displaying Christian symbols, saying they were false and that action would be taken against rumour-mongers. 'The situation is under control... please do not politicise a sensitive issue, you are playing with people's emotions,' he said.
In the capital, a few dozen demonstrators gathered outside the national mosque and another in the Malay enclave of Kampung Baru, chanting 'God is Great' and 'We will defend the dignity and rights of Muslims.' 'We have lived in peace with all religions but we want other religions to respect us and the use of the word Allah, which is exclusive to Muslims,' said organiser Arman Azha Abu Hanifah.
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