Malaysian Muslims rallied today to protest against Christians using the word "Allah" for God after a spate of attacks on churches that threatened to stoke racial and religious tensions.
At least three churches were attacked today in an unprecedented spate of attacks in this mainly Muslim country as a row over a court ruling that allowed a Catholic newspaper to use the word "Allah" in its Malay language editions presented a major challenge to the government.
The issue could pose a longer-term risk of political instability for Malaysia, which has been trailing Indonesia and Thailand for foreign investment and where investors have been frightened off by the prospect of an end to the predictable rule of the coalition that has governed for 52 years.
At prayers today, banners outside the country's biggest mosque in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur read "Don't pawn Malay pride for personal political gain" as hundreds of people gathered chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) in peaceful protests.
While Malaysian police downplayed the attacks that saw one Pentecostalist church gutted, saying they were carried out by "emotional" people, political analysts said they represented a major challenge for Prime Minister Najib Razak, who took office in April last year.
Malaysia is mainly Muslim and Malay, but there are substantial ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities who mainly practise Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism. Around 9 per cent of the 28 million population are Christian, including 800,000 Catholics.
Mr Najib angrily rejected claims by the opposition that his political party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) which relies on the majority Muslim Malay population for support, was responsible for the violence.
"Don't point the fingers at UMNO or anyone else. We have always been very responsible. Don't say this attack is motivated by UMNO," he told a press conference.
Malaysia's minorities combined to hand the government its biggest ever losses in national and state elections in 2008, in part as they became disillusioned with creeping Islamisation in as well as corruption and economic mismanagement.
Today's attack at the Metro Tabernacle church in suburban Kuala Lumpur, part of a Pentecostal church called "The Assemblies of God", gutted a ground-floor administrative office. Firebombs were later tossed into the compound of at least two more churches.
The use of the word "Allah" to describe the Christian God is widespread in Arabic speaking countries such as Lebanon and Egypt, but Malaysian Muslims say the issue is especially sensitive in a country that has large minorities and where they say Christian missionaries will use the word to convert Muslims.
Police tightened security at churches throughout the country and Mr Najib denounced the attacks, saying action would be taken against offenders.
Reuters