Police Forensics Investigating the Black Paint Incident in Malacca

A primarily East Malaysian Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) Church in Seremban was attacked today with a firebomb, leaving scorch marks on its front doors. The attack did not affect the church interior and was believed to have occurred early this morning. This incident marks the eight attack on Malaysian churches.

Yesterday in Taiping, Perak 2 cases of church attack were reported. The All Saints’ Church at Jalan Taming Sari and the SMK Convent along Jalan Convent became targets of arson attempts. Both suffered no damage. In Miri, Sarawak it was reported that the Good Shepherd Church had its glass windows shattered after being thrown with bricks, while the Malacca Baptist Church in Durian Daun was with splashed black paint.

“So far the attacks have involved stone throwing and arson attempts. There is no serious damage,” said the Home Minister, referring to the latest report on the surveillance on places of worship. He further added, ““Situation is under control and not as exaggerated by the foreign media, SMSes and the Internet,”

The government reiterates that all incidents were isolated and not coordinated. No casualties or injuries were reported.

Scorch marks on SIB Church, Seremban

All of the 8 victimized churches suffered only minor scorch marks or no damage, excluding the Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati, that left the whole ground in charred. Latest updates shows that the RM500,000 fund from the government to the Metro Tabernacle Church is actually for building a new RM1.5 million church in Batu Caves. Yesterday, Datuk Nazir Tun Razak, the younger brother of Malaysia premier cum the CEO for CIMB Group announced a RM100,000 donation to the same church.

“What happened was only caused by a small segment of the people. It was great to see people of all communities, faiths and social levels reaching out to help. It really reflects what Malaysians are about,” said Metro Tabernacle church senior pastor, Rev Ong Sek Leang.

Six Muslim NGOs — Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM), Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association, Badan Amal Tarbiah Sejagat Malaysia, Pewaris, Islamic Information and Services Foundation, Perkasa — yesterday offered their assistance and support to their “Christian brothers and sisters”.

PPIM executive secretary Datuk Nadzim Johan said the NGOs, which have 60 volunteers, and Rela are prepared to give a hand to their Christian counterparts should they need assistance.

Naked-Malaysian: The cowardly acts of vandalism towards the Malaysian churches did not discriminate whether the concerned churches were from Roman Catholic division or not, showing a high level of ignorance towards Christian faith and church bodies in Malaysia. Although all forms of attack to places of worship should be condemned, it was obvious these vandals are barking at the wrong tree.

Technorati Tags: Allah, Christian, Church, Islam, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Malaysia News, Malaysian, Miri, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Roman Chatolic, Sarawak, Seremban, Taiping

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The first incident struck the three-storey Metro Tabernacle church, part of the Assemblies of God movement, destroying its ground floor to a charred and twisted wreck.

The second and third attack involved the Catholic Church of the Assumption in Kuala Lumpur’s southwest and the nearby Protestant Life Chapel church, both escape with minor damages  as the Molotov cocktail failed to explode.

Coincidentally, the Malaysia judiciary website was also hacked and defaced on the same night, leaving a short threat to drop the ‘Allah’ case.

The latest attack that happened on Saturday morning was to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Petaling Jaya, but the firebomb missed the glass windows, hitting the building wall instead, leaving a minor burn marks on its outer paint job.

No human injury or casualty was reported in any of the four incidents. Islamic teachings prohibit destroying place of worship even in the event of war.

“Those who have been driven from their homes unjustly only because they said: Our Lord is Allah – For had it not been for Allah’s repelling some men by means of others, cloisters and churches and oratories and mosques, wherein the name of Allah is oft mentioned, would assuredly have been pulled down. Verily Allah helpeth one who helpeth Him. Lo! Allah is Strong, Almighty” – Al-Hajj Ayaat 40.

PM Najib Tun Razak announced last night that the government will fund RM500,000 to repair the Metro Tabernacle church in Desa Melawati.

A group of youth handing out flowers to passer-by at Bukit Bintang. Image source- The Star

Malaysian public, the majority Malay Moslems and other religion adherents remain divided over the ‘Allah’ issue, but all unanimously mourn and condemn any attack to houses of worship or any other acts that will jeopardize the delicate racial harmony in Malaysia.

Yesterday a public rally was held at Bukit Bintang to show Malaysian solidarity over recent religious distruption. A group of youths – of various races and professions – got together at the city centre and handed out flowers to passers-by in a gesture of goodwill in the wake of the arson attacks on four churches in the Klang Valley. The youths stood in the hustle and bustle of the Golden Triangle of Jalan Bukit Bintang carrying placards and banners with the message “Every­thing’s gonna be alright”.

Technorati Tags: Allah, Christian, Herald Weekly, Kuala Lumpur, Lutheran, Malaysia, Malaysia News, Petaling Jaya, Protestant, Roman Catholic

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Allah is the standard Arabic word for God. While the term is best known in the West for its use by Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, in reference to “God”. The term was also used by pagan Meccans as a reference to the creator-god, possibly the supreme deity in pre-Islamic Arabia.

The concepts associated with the term Allah (as a deity) differ among the traditions. In pre-Islamic Arabia amongst pagan Arabs, Allah was not considered the sole divinity, having associates and companions, sons and daughters – a concept which Islam thoroughly and resolutely abrogated. In Islam, the name Allah is the supreme and all comprehensive divine name. All other divine names are believed to refer back to Allah. Allah is unique, the only Deity, creator of the universe and omnipotent. Arab Christians today use terms such as Allah al-’Ab (“God the Father”) to distinguish their usage from Muslim usage. There are both similarities and differences between the concept of God as portrayed in the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible.

It is true the name Allah predates Islam? The popular view is that Islam is exclusively associated with the revelation of Prophet Muhammad SAW roughly 1431 years ago. Among the core teaching of Prophet Muhammad PBUH however involved believing Islam as the continuation to the religion of Isa PBUH (Jesus), Musa PBUH (Moses), Ibrahim PBUH (Abraham), and going all the way back to Adam PBUH, the first human on earth. As Islam views it, to say something predates Islam would literally means to predate all humanity.

In relation to the usage of the word Allah in Malaysia Roman Catholic publication, it is very important to get the facts straight.

1. Regionally, Christianity had only flourished in Borneo long after Islam has established itself, with Christian missionaries actively converting pagan tribes in Sabah and Sarawak during the Rajah Brooke era.

2. The calling of god as Allah in local Christian teachings got nothing to do with Arabia pagan god, the Christian term for god was purposely localized to imitate the name of existing native god, the god of the majority, which is the god of Muslims. Furthermore not one Orthodox Coptic Arab Christian Missionary ever laid foot on Malaysia soil to justify calling god as Allah. All missionaries were from England and other European countries.

To be technical one can says the name Allah predates Prophet Muhammad PBUH, but at the same time, the same name was also non existence in any Roman Catholic Bibles produced in the country(s) where all the Christian missionaries had came from. The local Muslims reservation on this issue is not entirely baseless.

It is important to know exactly where both side stand on this matter. Its common for Muslims to back the Islam side, and Christians backing the Roman Catholic side. However, to have another large group of Muslim unopposing the Christian view on this matter is something worth sinking our mind into.

According to Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, the spiritual leader for Parti Islam Malaysia (PAS) cum Chief Minister to the state of Kelantan, a key figure in the opposition coalition, Islam is a blessing to the universe, that translates into Islam is for all (Arabic; “Rahmatan Lil-Aalamin”). The one god in Islam is also the universal god of all religions. Other religion should be welcomed to call their god by Islam name.

Technorati Tags: Borneo, Christian, Islam, Kelantan, Kuala Lumpur, Malay, Malaysia, Malaysia Insider, Malaysian, Muslim, Roman Catholic, Sabah, Sarawak

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Christmas motifs and decoration in a shopping mall

In shopping malls, shopkeepers and retailers take the opportunity to erect a non-religious motifs such as snow, stockings, Santa and his reindeer. There are also the candy canes and Christmas tree, come complete white, green, red and gold, which are regarded as the traditional colors of the season. All commercial centers and hotels decorated themselves in sync with the atmosphere of Christmas.

Religious Adherents Statistic of 2000, Malaysia Department of Statistics

Christmas in Malaysia also refer to the church gatherings comprising of people of different beliefs (excluding Moslems) to observe the festive spirit. The celebration and the festivity continue till the morning hour.

Sabah will host the Christmas Open House this year at Padang Merdeka here on December 27 and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is scheduled to officiate the event. The concept of ‘open house’ is unique to Malaysia. Such practice is a norm for all religious festivities – friends, families and strangers are welcomed for a visit thus enjoys the delicious feast prepared by their hosts.

Christianity in Malaysia is a minority religion practised by 9.1% of the population. The major Christian denominations in Malaysia include the Anglicans, Baptists, Brethrens, independent Charismatic churches, Lutherans, Methodists, non-denominational churches,  Presbyterian and Roman Catholics. Majority of Malaysia Christians live in East Malaysia (Borneo) consisting 28% of  Sabah population and 42.4% of Sarawakian.

In Malaysia, Jesus too is recognized and loved by other spectrum of the population. The Moslems that constitutes the majority 60.4% of Malaysian, have different perception on Jesus.
In Islam, Jesus (Arabic: Isa) is considered a Messenger of God who had been sent to guide the Children of Israel (Bani Israil) with a new scripture, the Injil (Gospel). The Qur’an, believed by Muslims to be God’s final revelation, mentions Jesus 25 times. It states that Jesus was born to Mary (Arabic: Maryam) as the result of virginal conception, a miraculous event which occurred by the decree of God (Arabic: Allah). To aid him in his quest, Jesus was given the ability to perform miracles, all by the permission of God. According to Islamic texts, Jesus was neither killed nor crucified, but rather he was raised alive up to heaven. Islamic traditions narrate that he will return to Earth near the day of judgment to restore justice and defeat al-Masih ad-Dajjal (“The False Messiah”, also known as the AntiChrist).

Like all prophets in Islam, Jesus is considered to have been a Muslim, as he preached for people to adopt the straight path in submission to God’s will. Islam rejects that Jesus was God incarnate or the son of God, stating that he was a mortal man who, like other prophets, had been divinely chosen to spread God’s message. Islamic texts forbid the association of partners with God (syirik), emphasizing the notion of God’s divine oneness (tauhid). Numerous titles are given to Jesus in the Qur’an, such as al-Masih (“The Messiah; the anointed one” i.e. by means of blessings), although it does not correspond with the meaning accrued in Christian belief. Jesus is seen in Islam as a precursor to Muhammad, and is believed by Muslims to have foretold the latter’s coming.

Christmas is 'almost' a non-religious affair in Malaysia

Muslims believe in the virginal conception of Jesus by Mary, which is recounted throughout several passages in the Qur’an. According to the Qur’anic narrative, Mary had withdrawn into a temple and was visited by an angel an agent of divine action or communication commonly identified in Islam with the angel Gabriel (Arabic: Jibreel) but also with the created spirit from God by which he enlivened Adam. He proclaimed to her the conception of Jesus.

Mary was startled, for she had vowed her virginity to God and intended to retain it. The angel reassured her, stating that such a conception was easy for God, who wished to make from her a sign to men and a mercy from Him. The Qur’an describes the conception as the result of a creative decree made by God, similar to the creation of Adam. Some Qur’anic exegetes describe the event of conception as the angel’s breathing into the cloak of Mary; which, upon putting it on, resulted in Jesus being conceived. Afterwards, Mary withdrew “to a distant place.”

After delivering Jesus, Mary was overtaken by the pangs of childbirth, resting near the trunk of a palm tree. Jesus then addressed her from the cradle, to instruct her to shake the tree and obtain its fruits and also to allay Mary’s fears of a scandal surrounding his conception. She then showed the new-born to her family, and in silencing immodest rumors he declared: “Lo, I am God’s servant; God has given me the Book, and made me a Prophet. Blessed he has made me, wherever I may be; and He has enjoined me to pray, and to give alms, so long as I live and likewise to cherish my mother.” (Resource: Wikipedia)

Technorati Tags: Anglicans, Baptists, Borneo, Brethrens, Catholics, Christian, Christmas, Gabriel, Gospel, Isa, Jesus, Jibreel, Lutherans, Malaysia, Malaysia Travel, Mary, Maryam, Methodists, Moslem, Presbyterian, Qur'an, Sabah, Sarawak

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