Thursday, January 7, 2010

Malaysia Church Fire: Non-Muslims and 'Allah'

UPDATE, January 8, 2010: 3 Malaysian churches attacked in 'Allah' dispute
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What in the name of Allah is this about?

From the Associated Press:

A church was set on fire in Malaysia early Friday by unidentified attackers amid a growing conflict in the country over the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims, officials said.

Only the first floor office of the Metro Tabernacle Church was destroyed in the blaze that started a little after midnight Thursday, said church spokesman Kevin Ang. The worship areas on the upper two floors were undamaged, and there were no injuries.

Good Allah, that's extreme.

But "ONLY the first floor office of the Metro Tabernacle Church was destroyed in the blaze."

That's not so bad, is it?

For Allah's sake, there's no reason to get bent out of shape over this little fire.

I'm sure the Islamic radicals never intended to set the entire church on fire.

...The attack on the Protestant church comes days after the Kuala Lumpur High Court struck down a 3-year-old ban on non-Muslims using the word "Allah" in their literature. The government has appealed against the court verdict, which allowed a Catholic publication to use the common word for God in the Malay language, and the High Court has suspended its decision from being enforced until the appeal is heard.

Muslims argue that "Allah" is exclusive to Islam, and its use by Christians would confuse Muslims and tempt them to convert to Christianity.

The court decision has resulted in a rash of angry comments and threats by Muslims on the Internet. Dozens of Muslim groups are planning a protest against the court decision on Friday after weekly prayers.

Friday's fire was the first time the controversy turned destructive.

Thank Allah no one was injured.

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