Churches Attacked as Tensions Rise in Malaysia
By JAMES HOOKWAY
KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia's government sought to calm tensions in the multiethnic nation after at least five churches were attacked by arsonists, setting one ablaze and escalating a dispute over whether Christians here can use the word "Allah" as their translation for "God."
[Churches attacked in Malaysia] Associated Press
Unknown assailants threw gasoline bombs at one the country's oldest Anglican churches, All Saints in Taiping.
Nobody was hurt in the attacks, which began early on Friday and continued through the weekend; only one of the churches suffered serious damage.
But the attacks -- virtually unprecedented here - threaten to unsettle Malaysia's delicate ethnic balance and disrupt Prime Minister Najib Razak's efforts to win over support from non-Muslim minorities ahead of elections due by 2013.
Economists also worry that Mr. Najib's initial support for Muslim protesters could be an indication that he might not move as quickly as some investors hope to dismantle Malaysia's decades-old race-based affirmative-action policies.
(Read the rest at the Wall Street Journal online.)
And check out the Comments tab between Lance Reese and Sudhir V, and betw John Monahan and Lance Reese for interesting comments about translations of God, the Bible and Jesus in other countries. There are, of course, really stupid comments as well. I'd suggest ignoring Romesh Chander. I'm pretty sure he's offended each of the religions he references.
KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia's government sought to calm tensions in the multiethnic nation after at least five churches were attacked by arsonists, setting one ablaze and escalating a dispute over whether Christians here can use the word "Allah" as their translation for "God."
[Churches attacked in Malaysia] Associated Press
Unknown assailants threw gasoline bombs at one the country's oldest Anglican churches, All Saints in Taiping.
Nobody was hurt in the attacks, which began early on Friday and continued through the weekend; only one of the churches suffered serious damage.
But the attacks -- virtually unprecedented here - threaten to unsettle Malaysia's delicate ethnic balance and disrupt Prime Minister Najib Razak's efforts to win over support from non-Muslim minorities ahead of elections due by 2013.
Economists also worry that Mr. Najib's initial support for Muslim protesters could be an indication that he might not move as quickly as some investors hope to dismantle Malaysia's decades-old race-based affirmative-action policies.
(Read the rest at the Wall Street Journal online.)
And check out the Comments tab between Lance Reese and Sudhir V, and betw John Monahan and Lance Reese for interesting comments about translations of God, the Bible and Jesus in other countries. There are, of course, really stupid comments as well. I'd suggest ignoring Romesh Chander. I'm pretty sure he's offended each of the religions he references.