“Allah” War Heating Up in Malaysia

This just in:

Malaysia church torched amid Allah row
SPECIAL REPORTS – MalaysiaToday

Friday, 08 January 2010 admin-s

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – A church in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur was firebombed early on Friday, gutting the first storey of the building in a residential area, amid a row over the use of the word “Allah” for the Christian God.

“It is confirmed that Desa Melawati church was burnt, at about 12.25 am in the morning. There were no fatalities. We are investigating the incident and suspect foul play,” said Kuala Lumpur Chief Police Officer Mohammad Sabtu Osman.

A court ruling last week allowing Catholic newpaper The Herald to use “Allah” for the Christian God has been appealed by the government of the mainly Muslim nation of 28 million people.

The issue has threatened relations 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.

Malaysian Muslims, who account for around 60 percent of the population, are set to protest on Friday against the ruling.

The church that was burned on Friday was part of a group called “The Assembly of God”.

Many churches in Malaysia are situated in residential or retail areas and often occupy a small lot.

According to 2007 statistics, there are 333 Assembly of God churches in Malaysia.

“There are witness reports two persons on a motorbike came near the entrance and hurled in something looking like a petrol bomb. Our church is 90 percent gutted (on the first floor),” said church spokesman Kevin Ang from the Metro Tabernacle Assembly of God.

It is illegal for non-Muslims to proselytise to Muslims although freedom of worship for the mainly Buddhist, Christian and Hindu religious minorities who make up 40 percent of the population is guaranteed under the country’s constitution.

The use of “Allah” has been common among non-English speaking Malaysian Christians in the Borneo island states of Sabah and Sarawak for decades and without any incident.

Also, a Muzzie hacker has hacked the Judiciary website in Malaysia:

Judiciary website hacked over ‘Allah’ issue
Friday, 08 January 2010 – MalaysianBar.org

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Judiciary’s website was discovered hacked and defaced on Thursday night and its homepage substituted with a threat to not pursue the issue of the Catholic weekly the Herald’s use of the word “Allah.”

The hacker, using the handle “Brainwash,” defaced the site with a bright-red headline saying “TakeDown by Brainwash!” and what can only be described as “creative” use of the English language.

Blazed across the page in huge letters was “Mess with the best, die like the rest.”

The hacker also wrote: “Allah only restricted to Muslim only. Dont touch us as we dont touch you. Unless ….”

It was followed by a threatening postscript at the bottom of the page “To the court, Brain know you postponed it but if you wise enough then you should drop it.”

The hacker also posted a picture of a woman, bent over suggestively, apparently “washing” a brain.

Bar Council committee member Edmund Bon has labelled the act as “unwarranted and unacceptable.”

He said hacking and defacing websites was a criminal offence under the Computer Crimes Act 1997.

“The comments appear to put undue pressure on the judiciary to decide the case in a certain way and this should not be tolerated in a civil society.

“The Bar Council is all for allowing discussions and criticisms over court decisions so long as they are done in a civil manner. This threat intends to put pressure on the judiciary and it has overstepped the freedom of discussion boundaries,” he said when contacted.

The Herald website has also been hacked three times after the decision by High Court Justice Lau Bee Lan on allowing the word “Allah” to be used in the publication’s Malay-language edition.

Her decision has sparked anger and ire from various Muslim groups. Some groups have even threatened to stage gatherings on Friday to protest against the ruling.

The Home Ministry has appealed the decision and has been granted a stay of execution on Justice Lau’s ruling.

De facto law minister Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz could not be reached for comment as at press time.

UPDATE: Here is an editor’s note found HERE:

EDITOR’S NOTE

We were also told that eight churches were attacked, one an attempted arson, but we are yet to get confirmation about the matter.

UPDATE 2: The AP is now reporting that three churches have been firebombed:
3 Malaysian churches firebombed
Friday, January 8, 2010
The Associated Press – Via CBCNews

Three Malaysian churches were hit with firebombs Friday, extensively damaging one amid a growing conflict over the use of the word Allah by non-Muslims, officials said.

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Gee, why is it we never see protests like this when an Islamic extremist invokes Allah’s name before going on a rampage and killing innocent men, women, and children?  Just wondering…

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