Malaysian Christian Churches Firebombed in Dispute Over Use of Word 'Allah'

Police were increasing their patrols of areas around churches and Christian communities were hiring security guards, after petrol bombs were thrown at four churches in and around the capital Kuala Lumpur, partially destroying one of them. Hours later, Muslim preachers used Friday prayers to object to a court decision that would allow use of "Allah" as the Malaysian language term for the Christian God.

“We will not allow the word Allah to be inscribed in your churches,” said one speaker at the Kampung Bahru mosque in central Kuala Lumpur. Protesters carried posters reading “Heresy arises from words wrongly used” and “Allah is only for us”.

(...) The early-morning attack destroyed the first-floor offices of the three-storey Metro Tabernacle Church, although the worship hall itself was undamaged and there were no injuries. Petrol bombs were also thrown at three other churches, one of them Catholic, in the adjacent town of Petaling Jaya, but caused only minor damage.

“There are witness reports two persons on a motorbike came near the entrance and hurled in something looking like a petrol bomb,” Kevin Ang, a spokesman for the Metro Tabernacle Church, said. “Our church is 90 per cent gutted.”

The inspector-general of police, Musa Hassan, said: “Since last night, I have instructed all patrol cars to patrol all church areas. We are monitoring all churches.”

In Thursday, the website of the Malaysian judiciary was vandalised by a hacker with the alias “Brainwash” who left threatening messages apparently related to the court ruling. “Mess with the best, die like the rest,” read one message. “Allah only restricted to Muslim only.”