Mosques Targeted in "Allah" Dispute

Forensic police place a pig's head into a plastic bag at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010. Worshippers found severed heads of pigs at two Malaysian mosques
Wednesday following a spate of firebomb attacks on churches amid a dispute over the use of the
word "Allah" by Christians, officials said. (AP Photo) AP Photo
Worshippers found severed heads of pigs at two Malaysian mosques Wednesday following a spate of
firebomb attacks on churches amid a dispute over the use of the word "Allah" by Christians, officials
said.
It was the most serious incident to hit Islamic places of worship following vandalism and other
assaults at 11 churches, a Sikh temple, a mosque and two Muslim prayer halls across the Muslim-
majority country in the past three weeks. Pigs are considered unclean by Muslims.
The attacks followed outrage among Muslims over a Dec. 31 court verdict that allowed non-Muslims
to use "Allah" as a translation for "God" in the Malay language. Many Malaysian Muslims believe the
word should be exclusive to their religion, and that its use by others could confuse some Muslims
and even lure them to convert.
Several men who went to a suburban mosque to perform morning prayers Wednesday were shocked
to discover two bloodied pig heads wrapped in plastic bags in the mosque compound, said Zulkifli
Mohamad, the top official at the Sri Sentosa Mosque on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's
largest city.
Two severed pig heads were also found at the Taman Dato Harun Mosque in a nearby district, said
the mosque's prayer leader, Hazelaihi Abdullah.
"We feel this is an evil attempt by some people to aggravate tensions," Zulkifli told The Associated
Press.
Government authorities have denounced the attacks on places of worship as a threat to decades of
generally amicable relations between ethnic Malay Muslims, who make up nearly two-thirds of
Malaysia's 28 million people, and religious minorities, mainly ethnic Chinese and Indians who
practice Buddhism, Christianity or Hinduism.
Khalid Abu Bakar, the police chief of central Selangor state, urged Muslims to remain calm, saying
he would meet community leaders to discuss the situation.
"The person responsible for this incident just wants to incite" anger, Khalid said.
The tensions center on a court dispute in which the Herald, a newspaper published by the Roman
Catholic Church in Malaysia, argued it has the right to use the word "Allah" in its Malay-language
edition because the word predates Islam and is used by Christians in other predominantly Muslim
countries, such as Egypt, Indonesia and Syria.
The High Court ruled last month in favor of the Herald, overturning a years-old government ban on
the use of the word in non-Muslim publications. The government has appealed the decision.
Among the attacks in various Malaysian states, eight churches and two small Islamic prayer halls
were firebombed, two churches were splashed with paint, one had a window broken, a rum bottle
was thrown at a mosque and a Sikh temple was pelted with stones, apparently because Sikhs use
"Allah" in their scriptures.
The firebombings at the Islamic halls caused little damage except for scorch marks, but Zulkifli, the
mosque official, said the pig heads were "a serious desecration."
Authorities arrested 15 Muslim men in connection with the attacks on churches, and four other
unidentified suspects linked to the attacks on the Muslim prayer halls.
The controversy has reinforced perceptions that the country is coming under the influence of hard-
line Islam.
Last year, dozens of Muslims paraded with the bloodied head of a cow, a sacred animal in Hinduism,
to protest the proposed relocation of a Hindu temple in their neighborhood.
Minorities say they face institutionalized religious discrimination, citing problems such as slow
approval to build new churches and temples. Government officials deny any bias.
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