subject: Malaysian Church Attack's Continue Over "allah" Feud [print this page] It is sad to hear that close to nine church's have been attacked in Malaysia. The buildings were damaged using what seems to be home-made petroleum bombs, in another case a church was vandalized by painting it black. The latest attack may not have done much of a physical damage - burn marks found on the door and entranceway, but the long term political scenario of Malaysia has taken quiet a beating. The huge row over the use of the word "Allah" has triggered a deep resentment towards all the minorities residing in Malaysia. These events appear to be provoked after Malaysia's High Court decision, to allow Christians to describe God in its Malay language editions.
The word "Allah" is an Arabic word commonly used by Christians to describe God in countries such as Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. As extremist's rear their ugly head, it looks like these church attacks are no longer just an attack on a place of worship, but on the basic freedom, faith and values of the Malaysian minorities. Being a Muslim country, out of the 28 Million people living in Malaysia, around 9 percentage are Christians, including Catholics, Indians and Chinese who have been using the word "Allah" for decades. These recent happenings seem to portray Malaysia as a backward country; God being for everyone, the word Allah should also be for everyone. "Allah" is the only word for God in the Malayan language but Muslims are trying to stop citizens of other religion from using the word "Allah" as their own God. Rather, they are encouraging them to use the word "Tuhan", but Christians say the word "Tuhan" means "Lord" and cannot replace "Allah".
We find Muslims arguing that using such a word so close to Islam will result in confusion of religion, and lead to conversion. While Prime Minister Najib Razak visited the badly damaged Pentecostalist church and offered a government grant of half a million ringgit ($148,100) to maintain "a harmonious society," Church leaders say they wanted much more concrete assurances of safety. "We ask the government to make a strong statement to these wrongdoers so we can worship in peace on Sunday," Reverend Hermen Shastri, secretary-general to the Council of Churches Malaysia, told Reuters.
As police increase and tighten their patrols of areas around Churches, Muslims are still objecting the use of the word "Allah" in the prayers of Non-Muslims in an adamant need to defend their own religion. "Today we are here for a peaceful demonstration to tell them our hearts are broken," Arman Azha Abu Hanafiah, one of the Muslim protest leaders on Friday, told Reuters.
At the Friday prayers, banners outside the country's biggest mosque in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur read "Don't pawn Malay pride for personal political gain" as hundreds of people gathered chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) in peaceful protests.
Internal tensions increase as Prime Minister Najib is accused by the opposing party as this seems to be a ploy on his part to win back Muslim voters who deserted him in the 2008 general elections. A charge he vehemently denies, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) which relies on the majority Muslim Malay population for support, was responsible for the violence."Don't point the fingers at UMNO or anyone else. We have always been very responsible. Don't say this attack is motivated by UMNO," he told a press conference.
Through out Malaysia's history its rulers have been struggling to contain the tensions between the Muslim Malays, and the rest of the country's population who follow Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism. This situation could pose a long-term risk for Malaysia's Political stability. Malaysians faced with such never before experienced violence and hatred call for a much needed unity amongst their own country. Although these actions seems to be a desperate attempt to threaten the national security, so as to pressure the courts in taking back their decision. This is why all the people fighting for their rights need our support and encouragement.
The way in which this issue is settled by the Malaysian leaders, will set a remarkable example for all countries having racial problems. Not only will this determine their own political and economical future, but it will show others as well what needs to be done in such an extreme situation. Let us hope that a good lesson is learned from this outcome. We never know where the next racial attacks might be! They may be much neared to home than we think....
