Originally published on January 28, 2014
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Two petrol bombs were thrown at one of the oldest churches in Malaysia on Monday (January 27), as tensions run high between Muslims and non-Muslims over the use of the word 'Allah'.
Banners with the text "Allah is Great, Jesus is the son of Allah" were found in five churches in Penang on Sunday, including the Victory Lutheran Church in Island Glades, St John Britto Catholic Church on Jalan Sungai Pinang, The Church of the Immaculate Conception in Pulau Tikus, the Church of the Assumption in Lebuh Farquhar and the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Butterworth.
Three churches informed the police and leaders claimed that they did not hang or authorise the hanging of such banners.
The Church of the Assumption, a 228-year-old church which has been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site, was attacked at around 1:30 a.m. the next day. During a press conference, Penang CPO Senior Deputy Commissioner Datuk Wira Abdul Rahim Hanafi said two men on a motorcycle threw two Molotov cocktails at the church. Only one of them exploded near the Mother Mary shrine, while another missed its target and fell on the grass. The historic structure remains undamaged.
The identities of the assailants are unknown. However, the bombing was seen as retaliation against the banners, which are highly provocative to the eyes of Muslims. Making up 60 percent of the population, Muslims argue that only they can use Allah, the Arabic word for God which has been imported into the Malay language, but Christians say such restrictions infringe on their rights.
Last October, a court ruled that the word Allah can only be used by Muslims. Authorities seized more than 300 Malay-language Bibles because they contained the word Allah.
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