Summary
11 January 2010
Another Christian church has been attacked in Malaysia, the ninth such incident since Friday. Nobody has been hurt, but the issue has exposed deep religious and ethnic problems in Malaysia.
Reporter:
Rachel Harvey
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The latest attack, on an Evangelical Christian church, caused limited physical damage - just a burned door and a charred entranceway. But the political implications may be more serious.
Tensions have flared after Malaysia's High Court ruled that a Roman Catholic newspaper, the Herald, was permitted to use the word 'Allah' to describe God in its Malay language editions. Muslim groups argue that Christians using a word so closely associated with Islam could be a ploy to win converts.
Christians make up around 9% of the population in the majority Muslim state. Most non-Muslims are ethnically Indian or Chinese. The row over the use of the word 'Allah' has exposed deep resentments over the treatment of minorities and freedom of religion in Malaysia.
A government minister told foreign diplomats on Monday the church attacks were the work of extremists. 'These were not just attacks on houses of worship' he said, 'these were attacks on the values and freedoms all Malaysians share.' Under the slogan 'One Malaysia', the government has made racial harmony a central policy. Its commitment to that policy is now being severely tested.
Rachel Harvey, 大象传媒 News, Bangkok
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Vocabulary
- charred
burnt and black
- the political implications
the effect these events will have on the country's politics and government
- Tensions have flared
feelings of anger between different groups of people have increased or got worse
- permitted
allowed or given permission to do something
- closely associated with
very strongly connected with
- a ploy to win converts
a plan to convince people to change their religion or beliefs
- majority Muslim state
a country where most of the people are Muslim
- has exposed deep resentments
has made the long standing anger obvious for all to see
- extremists
people who have beliefs that most other people think are unacceptable
- racial harmony
when people from different ethnic groups are able to live peacefully together
