The rising tensions between Muslims and Christians in Malaysia over the “Allah” issue might have just escalated to the point of brazen violence, as the Churhc of the Assumption in Lebuh Farquhar, Penang has been attacked with Molotov cocktails early this morning.
This was right after a controversial banner with the word “Allah” was found outside the church on Sunday.
Penang Police Chief SDCP Datuk Abul Rahim said that two Molotov coctails were thrown into the church compound at approximately 1.30am today.
“Initial investigations showed that two men on a motorcycle committed the crime,” he was quoted as saying by The Star. “Hpowever only one (Molotov cocktail) exploded as the other one fell on the grass.”
Representatives from the church, and a few other churches in the area have lodged police reports over controversial banners that were put up at the their entrances.
The incident raises parallels with a similar spate of vitriol and violence against Malaysian Christians in 2010, when several churches nationwide and a Catholic school were attacked at the height of the “Allah” controversy at the time, following the High Court’s ruling disputing the Home Ministry’s ban on the use of the word “Allah” by Catholic weekly Herald.
The Metro Tabernacle church in Kuala Lumpur suffered the worst attack after arsonists burned down their premises in Desa Melawati, leaving their ground floor damaged. The church has since moved to a new building in Batu Caves.
Photo: Hasnoor Hussain
Source: The Malaysian Insider
Reader Interactions