A dispute is raging in Malaysia about whether Christians have the right to use the world “Allah” — and it has now resulted in three churches being firebombed. The government of the country where 60 percent of its residents are Muslim had banned Roman Catholics from using “Allah” for God in their publications but a high court has now overturned the policy. The result: turmoil.

The New York Times:

Three Christian churches were attacked with firebombs Friday as tensions rose in a dispute over whether Christians could use the word “Allah” in this largely Muslim nation.

Later in the day, small crowds rallied outside two major mosques in the capital, in a growing protest over a court ruling that overturned a government ban on the use of “Allah” by Roman Catholics as a translation for God.

The government has appealed that ruling, insisting that the ban should remain in force, and made no move to bar the unsanctioned rallies, as it commonly does.

But a police helicopter hovered low over the front of the city’s central mosque, drowning out the words of the speakers on its balcony.

“Allah is only for us,” said Faedzah Fuad, 28, who participated in the rally. “The Christians can use any word, we don’t care, but please don’t use the word Allah.”

Despite escalating political rhetoric and the early-morning violence, the rallies of 200 to 300 people were far smaller than the thousands predicted by organizers.

The Christian Science Monitor:

The controversy began when The Herald, a Roman Catholic newspaper in Malaysia, challenged a ban against the periodical using Allah in the Malay-language section of their newspaper to refer to God in a Christian context. Though Allah has been incorporated into the Malay language to mean God and the Koran teaches (Surah 29:46) that Christians, Muslims, and Jews share the same God, many Malaysian Muslims contend that Allah only refers to God for Muslims. Many allege Christians are using Allah in an effort to convert Muslims to Christianity, reports The Times of London.

Malaysian Christians argue that they have used Allah “for decades” in their Malay-language Bibles without any issues. In the court case, the Herald’s legal team argued that Allah is an Arabic word for God and that they use it in their publication to serve the needs of their subscribers in Borneo. Time magazine reported that they rejected claims of trying to convert Muslims.

Meanwhile, tensions continue to mount between religious groups in Malaysia. Muslims constitute a slight majority, with Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists comprising the rest of the population. Although Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak originally supported protests against the court ruling that began last week, The Wall Street Journal reports that he is now calling for calm and asking citizens not to blame the government for inspiring the church attacks.

Time Magazine has an article that needs to be read in full. Here’s the beginning of it:

“Why are the Christians claiming Allah?” asks businessman Rahim Ismail, 47, his face contorted in rage and disbelief. He shakes his head and raises his voice while waiting for a taxi along Jalan Tun Razak, a main thoroughfare in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital. “Everybody in the world knows Allah is the Muslim God and belong to Muslims. I cannot understand why the Christians want to claim Allah as their God,” Rahim says as passers-by, mostly Muslims, gather around and nod in agreement.

The reason for their anger is a recent judgment by Malaysia’s High Court that the word Allah is not exclusive to Muslims. Judge Lau Bee Lan ruled that others, including Catholics who had been prohibited by the Home Ministry from using the word in their publications since 2007, can now use the term. She also rescinded the prohibition order freeing the Malay language–edition of the Catholic monthly The Herald to use Allah to denote the Christian God. After widespread protests, however, the judge granted a stay order on Jan. 7. The same day the government appealed to the higher court of appeal to overturn the ruling.

The anger seemingly turned violent late Thursday night after masked men on motorcycles firebombed three churches in the city, gutting the ground floor of the Metro Tabernacle Church located in a commercial building in the Desa Melawati suburb of the capital. The attacks, which police said appeared uncoordinated, were condemned by the government, opposition MPs and Muslim clerics alike. On Friday Muslims demonstrated in scores of mosques across the country but the protest was peaceful. In the mosque in Kampung Baru, a Malay enclave in the city, Muslims held placards that read “Leave Islam Alone! Treat Us As You Would Treat Yourself! Don’t Test Our Patience!” This, amid cries of “Allah is Great!”

In Malaysia, the Malaysiakini website declares, in part:

It is very sad and deeply disturbing and disappointing to see opportunistic politicians going all out to capitalise on this ‘Allah’ issue to the maximum. They resort to all sorts of racist tactics to gain support and are the least bothered about the consequences that their actions might have on the security of the nation.

This is not the time to blame one another for the ‘Allah controversy’ and the tense situation that it is leading to. It has to be stopped immediately by the fair and firm actions of the police and the government to prevent it from escalating further, exploited by irresponsible and extremist elements on both sides.

It is time for a lasting and amicable solution to this dispute and all inter-faith disputes once and all. This can only be achieved by engagement and consultation in the form of inter-faith dialogues and not the courts which can only grant temporary solutions to such disputes.

…..Inter-faith dialogues, especially between Muslims and Christians, are being emphasised at international levels since the Sept 11 attacks of 2001. Malaysia, being a multiracial and multi- religion country, should take the lead for such inter-faith dialogues in our own country.

It is an opportunity to show the world how we can promote peace and harmony among the various races and religions by getting rid of our suspicions and hatred for one another through engagement and dialogue.

Let us show the world that we can live together peacefully as children of the one true God, whatever name we choose to call Him. Let Him be the uniting, not dividing factor.

Another post on that site reads, in part:

I am perplexed, very perplexed as to why Umno [the United Malays National Organisation] is pursuing the ‘Allah’ issue only now when they could have rectified the problems years ago. Let’s look at the following facts:

Fact 1: Sarawak and Sabah joined the Malaysian federation in 1963. And forty years later, they decide to ban the use of the word by non-Muslims? Why now and not then? For 400 years, East Malaysians Christians have been using the word and to have it suddenly yanked away, how does one suppose the community would feel at such a callous act? Where is the empathy from Umno?

Fact 2: The Herald has been in publication since 1994 with the Bahasa Malaysia supplement incorporated in 1995. I am very sure the officers in the home ministry must have vetted every issue for subversive contents but for 16 years, or at least 14 years (the last two years in dispute because of the usage of the word), why didn’t the government reject their annual renewal application?

Fact 3 : The so-called BM bibles distributed in East Malaysia are from Indonesia. So are we to believe that Indonesia, with the largest Muslim population, is wrong while Umno is right in not allowing the use of the word ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims?

Simply put, this is not a religious issue but a political one. When Umno is doing well at the polls and enjoying a good majority in Parliament, I guess everything is A-okay but when they were almost shown the door in 2008, they needed to find some ways to redeem themselves – at least in the eyes of the Malay Muslims – that they are the defenders of the faith.

Both posts need to be read in full.

Reuters India has this must read Q+A – What’s next after church attacks in Malaysia?

EDITOR’s NOTE: This post was revised several times since it’s initial posting.