Attacks on churches in Malaysia continue

Another Christian church has been attacked in Malaysia – the ninth such incident since Friday.
No one was injured in the attack on an evangelical Christian church, but buildings were damaged by what appear to have been home-made petrol bombs.  In another case a church was vandalised with black paint.

The attacks appear to have been triggered by a High Court ruling last month that overturned a government ban on non-Muslims using the word “Allah”. The government is appealing against the decision.


The latest attack caused limited physical damage – just a burned door and a charred entranceway. But the political implications may be more serious. Tensions have flared after Malaysia’s High Court ruled that a Roman Catholic newspaper, the Herald, was permitted to use the word Allah to describe God in its Malay language editions. Muslim groups argue that Christians using a word so closely associated with Islam could be a ploy to win converts. MORE HERE