Malaysian police arrest eight in church bombing

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian police have arrested eight people suspected to be responsible for bombing a Christian church, officials said Wednesday. The incident was one of 10 attacks on churches that followed a December 31 High Court ruling that allowed non-Muslims to use the word Allah to refer to God.

Authorities have detained eight suspects since Tuesday in connection with the January 8 attack in suburban Kuala Lumpur on the Metro Tabernacle church, whose ground floor was razed in the fire, federal police chief of criminal investigations Mohamad Bakri Zinin said.

The suspects, ages 21 to 26, were tracked down after one of them sought hospital treatment for burns to the hand, Bakri was quoted as saying by the Star daily.

He said the suspects would be remanded for seven days, adding that they could be charged with "mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy" a place of worship, which is punishable by a maximum 20-year prison sentence and a fine.

The High Court verdict on the use of Allah came after a yearlong legal battle between the Herald, a Roman Catholic newsletter, and the government of the predominantly Muslim nation. The row began when the Herald was ordered to stop publishing its Malay-language articles with the word Allah.

The government had banned the use of the word by non-Muslims, saying it could confuse some Muslims into converting to Christianity, a stand that was criticized by non-Muslims and liberal Muslims alike.

The spate of church attacks highlighted rising religious tensions in multiracial Malaysia, which has always struggled to balance its ethnic and religious sensitivities.

While Islam is its official religion, the country's population of 28 million includes large minorities of Christians, Buddhists and Hindus.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/304752,malaysian-police-arrest-eight-in-church-bombing.html.