Fight on name of God

14 January 2010

Christian lawyers targeted over "Allah"

Fourth church attacked in Malaysia as "Allah" row deepens

Malaysia's Catholic Church said Thursday its lawyers' offices had been burgled and ransacked in the latest of a spate of attacks triggered by a row over the use of the word "Allah".

Police said a church in southern Johor state was also attacked, bringing to 10 the number of churches fire-bombed or vandalised in the past week.
Trouble broke out after the High Court decided on December 31 to lift a government ban on non-Muslims using "Allah" as a translation for "God".
"Our lawyers' offices were broken into and burgled sometime between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning and the office was ransacked," said Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Catholic Church newspaper the Herald.
"We believe the break-in is linked to the ongoing situation over the use of the word 'Allah' and we are very concerned."
"The law firm does not have any money or many valuables so we believe this is purely aimed at intimidation."
Church lawyer Derek Fernandez said a laptop was stolen in the attack on his firm's offices in southwest Kuala Lumpur, and he was checking whether any documents had been taken.
"This was a very professional job as there were very strong grilles protecting the office that were cut and the locks (were) carefully replaced after the break-in."
However, police denied the incident was linked to the Allah row.
"Police investigations so far indicate that this is purely a housebreaking and theft case, and is in no way related to the Allah issue," federal criminal investigation chief Bakri Zinin said in a statement.
Police said meanwhile the Saint Elizabeth Catholic Church in Johor had been splashed with paint early Thursday.
"The church was splashed with red paint sometime early this morning," deputy national police chief Ismail Omar told repoters. "We are still investigating the matter."
Malaysia's Bar Council condemned the attack on the law offices, saying lawyers must be free to represent their clients "without fear or favour".
"Criticism and dissent are legitimate forms of expression, but threats, coercion, intimidation or violence are unacceptable," president Ragunath Kesavan said.
The High Court's ruling in favour of the Herald, which argued for the right to use "Allah" in its Malay-language section, was suspended last week pending an appeal, after the government argued the decision could cause racial conflict.
Since the ruling, churches have been hit with Molotov cocktails, splashed with paint and had windows smashed with stones, triggering tighter security at places of worship nationwide.
About nine percent of Malaysia's 28 million people are Christian, including 850,000 Catholics. The majority community of Malays are Muslim.
The row is one of a string of religious disputes in recent years that have raised fears among minorities that the country is being "Islamised" and that their rights are being eroded.
In Geneva, the World Council of Churches said it was disturbed by the attacks and called on the Malaysian government to take immediate action.
"We hope that immediate measures will be taken to resolve the problem and that all perpetrators of these acts of violence will be brought to justice," the WCC said in a letter to Malaysian churches.
Pointing out that Christians living in neighbouring Indonesia -- the world's biggest Muslim-majority country -- has been using the word "Allah" for centuries, the WCC said it was "very disturbing to hear about this new controversy generated by a small sector of Muslims."
The US government's Commission on International Religious Freedom Tuesday voiced concern over the violence, and said the response of Malaysian leaders would be vital in shaping the nation's future.
The Malaysian government has strongly criticised the attacks, but has been accused of stoking Malay nationalism so as to protect its voter base after the opposition made unprecedented gains in 2008 elections.
After the latest attacks, Prime Minister Najib Razak said Thursday that probes were under way to bring the perpetrators to justice and said "several" suspects had been identified.
"These actions do not represent Malaysia. Malaysia is a tolerant country that supports religious freedom for all," he said in a statement.