Tenth church hit, attack in Seremban

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 — The Grace Global Prayer church in Rasah, Seremban, became the 10th attacked in a week, after its windows were found broken yesterday evening, in the latest incident believed to be linked to the controversial “Allah” ruling.

Police are investigating the incident.

It is the latest Christian church of several now hit by firebombs, arson attempts or vandalism.

Seremban OCPD ACP Saiful Azly Kamaruddin told The Malaysian Insider that a blunt object had been hurled through the side window of the church.

He said church workers discovered the damage at 7.30pm and immediately lodged a police report.

“We are investigating and will step up security around the church,” he said.

Before this, nine other churches and a convent school in Selangor, Perak, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Johor and Sarawak had been hit so far in the attacks following the Dec 31, 2009 High Court decision allowing the Catholic Church’s Herald to use the word “Allah.”

On Tuesday, a glass sliding door to the entrance of a Sikh Temple in Sentul here was found cracked from a barrage of stones, making it the first non-Christian house of worship hit.

Sikhs also use the term “Allah” to describe God in Punjabi and had unsuccessfully sought to be part of the Roman Catholic Church’s legal suit to use the name, a move that has sparked anger among some Muslims in Malaysia who claim it is exclusive to them.

So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the acts of violence and the authorities have urged the public not to speculate over the attacks.

The worst hit church so far has been the Metro Tabernacle church here, which had its ground floor gutted last week.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration has attempted to control the damage from the incidents, with his ministers trying to engage Muslim and Christian groups in dialogue to calm fears.

But pressure remains as attacks continue.

The police are also under pressure to make arrests. So far, the authorities say they only have evidence of the “physical attributes” of the possible culprits behind the firebombing of the Metro Tabernacle church.

In addition, a 25-year-old student was charged at the Sessions Court here today with threatening public safety in relation to a comment he posted on Facebook about the recent spate of attacks on churches.

The Barisan Nasional government is also finding it difficult to strike a compromise on the “Allah” issue.

In a turn of events, the government today said that it will allow the use of the word “Allah” by East Malaysian Christians when referring to God in the Malay language.

The apparent concession is seen as a damage control move as Christians in the states of Sabah and Sarawak primarily conduct church services in the Malay language.

In an interview with a Kuching-based daily, The Borneo Post, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz said the word has been used traditionally in the two states and that the local Muslims are used to the practice.

But without providing details, he said “Allah” would still be prohibited for churches in the peninsular.

However, conservative Muslims are still continuing to pressure the government on the issue.

Friday sermons in Selangor mosques today reminded Muslims to unite over the “Allah” controversy, and described the use of the word by Christians as an attempt to undermine the position of Islam in the country.

According to the text of the sermon — prepared by the Selangor Islamic Department (Jais) — allowing Christians to use the word “Allah” would create religious tensions.