Attacks deepen racial tension

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Eight churches have been attacked over three days amid a dispute over the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims, sparking fresh political instability that is denting Malaysia’s image as a moderate and stable Muslim-majority nation.

The unprecedented attacks have set off a wave of disquiet among Malaysia’s minority Christians and strained their ties with the majority Malay Muslims. About 9 percent of Malaysia’s 28 million people are Christian, most of whom are ethnic Chinese or Indian. Muslims make up 60 percent of the population, and most are ethnic Malays.

The attacks were a blow to racial unity espoused by Prime Minister Najib Razak under his “1Malaysia” slogan since taking power in April.

“It showed that, after 52 years of living together, nation building and national unity is in tatters,” said Charles Santiago, an opposition member of Parliament. “The church attacks shattered notions of Malaysia as a model secular Muslim nation in the eyes of the international community.

“Malaysians are living in fear of a racial clash after the church attacks and rising orthodox Islamic tones in the country,” Santiago said.

Many Muslims are angry about a Dec. 31 High Court decision overturning a government ban on Roman Catholics’ using “Allah” to refer to their God in the Malay- language edition of their main newspaper, the Herald.

The ruling also applies to the ban’s broader applications such as Malay-language Bibles, 10,000 copies of which were recently seized by authorities because they translated God as Allah.

The government has appealed the verdict.

Firebombs were thrown at seven churches nationwide since Friday, with another splashed with black paint. No one was hurt, and all suffered little damage, except the Metro Tabernacle Church in a Kuala Lumpur suburb, which had its office on the first floor gutted by fire.