Ninth Church Vandalized in Malaysia as Tensions Rise Over Use of Word Allah

BANGKOK — A ninth church was vandalized Monday in Malaysia in a series of arson attacks that have raised religious tensions surrounding a dispute over the use of the word “Allah” by Christians in this mostly Muslim nation.


Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (C) leaves after visiting the torched Metro Tabernacle church in Desa Melawati in Kuala Lumpur, January 9, 2010. Arsonists in Malaysia struck another church on Saturday, bringing the attacks on churches to four in two days as a row escalates over the use of the word Allah to refer to the Christian God.

Though the Malaysia truly Asia PM is standing in front of this burnt out church looking baffled - his own government's policies have contributed to this - they have been confiscating bibles and harassing churches because of the use of the word Allah. But when the court overturned these actions - the people then responded by destroying the local churches.

“Allah” is the common term for God in Malay-language Bibles, but the government and many Muslim groups insist that the word should be reserved for use in Islam.

The attacks, which began on Friday, came after a court ruling on Dec. 31 that overturned a government ban on the use of “Allah” by Christians. That ruling has been stayed while the government appeals.

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Persecution List: N. Korea, Iran Top Oppressors of Christians

North Korea is for the eighth straight year the world’s top persecutor of Christians, according to Open Doors' 2010 World Watch List.

The notoriously restrictive regime bans all religions other than a semi-personality cult centered around the current leader, Kim Jong-Il, and his father, Kim Il-Sung. It is illegal to be a Christian in North Korea and authorities have executed people found to possess a Bible.

An estimated 40,000 to 60,000 Christians are currently in prison labor camps because of their faith.

“Christians are the target of fierce government action, and once caught, are not regarded as human,” said a veteran North Korean watcher, who is not identified for security reasons, to Open Doors. “Last year we had evidence that some were used as guinea pigs to test chemical and biological weapons.”

Carl Moeller, president/CEO of Open Doors USA, commented that it is “certainly not a shock” that North Korea is ranked No. 1 on the list.

“There is no other country in the world where Christians are persecuted in such a horrible and systematic manner,” Moeller said. “Three generations of a family are often thrown into prison when one member is incarcerated.”

But Moeller noted that despite the intense persecution, the group of Christians in North Korea is “strong” and actually growing in number.

Following North Korea on the World Watch List is Iran, which jumped to the No. 2 spot from No. 3.

Open Doors explained that Iran moved up because of the increased number of arrests of Christians beginning in 2008 and continuing into 2009. At least 85 Christians were arrested in Iran during this time period, the watchdog reported.

Among those arrested were two young women who converted from Islam to Christianity. The case of Maryam Rustampoor and Marzieh Amirzadeh, who were released two months ago, attracted international attention. Open Doors was among the groups that advocated for the release of the two women who were arrested simply for being Christian.

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