GENEVA: The World Council of Churches on Thursday called on the Malaysian government to take immediate action to end attacks on churches sparked by a row on the use of the word "Allah."
The WCC said in a letter to Malaysian churches: "We hope that immediate measures will be taken to resolve the problem and that all perpetrators of these acts of violence will be brought to justice."
Several churches have been been fire-bombed or vandalised in the past week, after the High Court decided on Dec 31 to lift a government ban on non-Muslims using "Allah" as a translation for "God."
Pointing out that Christians living in neighbouring Indonesia — the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country — has been using the word "Allah" for centuries, the WCC said it was "very disturbing to hear about this new controversy generated by a small sector of Muslims."
"In fact, this action will only challenge tolerance and restrict religious freedom as well as negatively affecting the ‘One Malaysia’ policy commitment made by the government …" said the church group.
The Malaysian government has strongly criticised the attacks, but has been accused of stoking Malay nationalism so as to protect its voter base after the opposition made unprecedented gains in 2008 elections.
After the latest attacks, Prime Minister Najib Razak said Thursday that probes were underway to bring the perpetrators to justice and that "several" suspects had been identified.
The WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches representing more then 560 million Christians in about 110 countries.
AFP
15/01/2010
The WCC said in a letter to Malaysian churches: "We hope that immediate measures will be taken to resolve the problem and that all perpetrators of these acts of violence will be brought to justice."
Several churches have been been fire-bombed or vandalised in the past week, after the High Court decided on Dec 31 to lift a government ban on non-Muslims using "Allah" as a translation for "God."
Pointing out that Christians living in neighbouring Indonesia — the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country — has been using the word "Allah" for centuries, the WCC said it was "very disturbing to hear about this new controversy generated by a small sector of Muslims."
"In fact, this action will only challenge tolerance and restrict religious freedom as well as negatively affecting the ‘One Malaysia’ policy commitment made by the government …" said the church group.
The Malaysian government has strongly criticised the attacks, but has been accused of stoking Malay nationalism so as to protect its voter base after the opposition made unprecedented gains in 2008 elections.
After the latest attacks, Prime Minister Najib Razak said Thursday that probes were underway to bring the perpetrators to justice and that "several" suspects had been identified.
The WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches representing more then 560 million Christians in about 110 countries.
AFP
15/01/2010
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