Post by desi113 on Jan 16, 2010 11:57:24 GMT
Stones thrown at Malaysian Sikh temple following religious row
Malaysian Sikhs have become the latest group to be dragged into a violent controversy about the use of the word Allah, with the stoning of Sikh temple following a series of arson attacks on Christian churches.
Vandals damaged a mirror, but caused no injuries, when they threw stones into the courtyard of the temple in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur late last night. The attackers have not been identified, but they appear to be Muslims angry at the use by other religions of the word Allah as the Malaysian word for God.
The word has been used for centuries in Malaysia, as well as by Christians in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Indonesia, as the equivalent of the English word God. But many Malaysian Muslims, who make up 60 per cent of the population, say that Allah should be reserved exclusively for Muslims, and that use of it in a Biblical context encourages conversion to Christianity, a crime under the country’s sharia laws.
A fortnight ago the Herald, a Catholic newspaper which is published in Malaysian, won an appeal against a ruling which banned use of the word by non-Muslims. The judgement has been suspended in anticipation of a counter appeal by the government, but it has already stirred up Muslim anger in a country with a particular dread of ethnic and racial confrontation.
Related Links
Malaysia’s 120,000 Sikhs also use the word in their Malaysian language scriptures, but have so far have escaped enforcement of the ban, which has seen Bibles and CDs with Christian seized by the government for use of the contentious word.
“Sikhs are not going to stop using Allah,” the chief of the temple in Kuala Lumpur’s Sentul district said earlier today. “We cannot change our scriptures. … As far as we are concerned we are doing our prayers (using Allah). There is no way any law is stopping us.”
To add to the controversy, a woman in the Malaysian part of Borneo, where most of the country’s Christians are found, is suing the government for the right to possess material containing the word Allah. “It is our right to continue to use the word, we have been using it from even before [Malaysia’s 1963] independence,” said Daniel Raut, president of the Borneo Evangelical Church.
Yesterday, the panel which makes recommendations to the US government on religious freedom, expressed its unease about the recent attacks, which gutted one church and have forced other to hire private security guards.
“We are very concerned with events in Malaysia, as the church bombings have shaken Malaysia's delicate political and ethnic balance,” said Leonard Leo, chair of the Commission on International Religious Freedom. "How Malaysian leaders settle these matters will determine that country's political and economic future.”
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6985866.ece#comment-have-your-say
Malaysian Sikhs have become the latest group to be dragged into a violent controversy about the use of the word Allah, with the stoning of Sikh temple following a series of arson attacks on Christian churches.
Vandals damaged a mirror, but caused no injuries, when they threw stones into the courtyard of the temple in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur late last night. The attackers have not been identified, but they appear to be Muslims angry at the use by other religions of the word Allah as the Malaysian word for God.
The word has been used for centuries in Malaysia, as well as by Christians in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Indonesia, as the equivalent of the English word God. But many Malaysian Muslims, who make up 60 per cent of the population, say that Allah should be reserved exclusively for Muslims, and that use of it in a Biblical context encourages conversion to Christianity, a crime under the country’s sharia laws.
A fortnight ago the Herald, a Catholic newspaper which is published in Malaysian, won an appeal against a ruling which banned use of the word by non-Muslims. The judgement has been suspended in anticipation of a counter appeal by the government, but it has already stirred up Muslim anger in a country with a particular dread of ethnic and racial confrontation.
Related Links
Malaysia’s 120,000 Sikhs also use the word in their Malaysian language scriptures, but have so far have escaped enforcement of the ban, which has seen Bibles and CDs with Christian seized by the government for use of the contentious word.
“Sikhs are not going to stop using Allah,” the chief of the temple in Kuala Lumpur’s Sentul district said earlier today. “We cannot change our scriptures. … As far as we are concerned we are doing our prayers (using Allah). There is no way any law is stopping us.”
To add to the controversy, a woman in the Malaysian part of Borneo, where most of the country’s Christians are found, is suing the government for the right to possess material containing the word Allah. “It is our right to continue to use the word, we have been using it from even before [Malaysia’s 1963] independence,” said Daniel Raut, president of the Borneo Evangelical Church.
Yesterday, the panel which makes recommendations to the US government on religious freedom, expressed its unease about the recent attacks, which gutted one church and have forced other to hire private security guards.
“We are very concerned with events in Malaysia, as the church bombings have shaken Malaysia's delicate political and ethnic balance,” said Leonard Leo, chair of the Commission on International Religious Freedom. "How Malaysian leaders settle these matters will determine that country's political and economic future.”
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6985866.ece#comment-have-your-say
