Faith Under Fire...
2 Muslims jailed 5 years for Malaysia church arson
By JULIA ZAPPEI
The Associated Press
Friday, August 13, 2010; 2:32 AM
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- A Malaysian court sentenced two Muslim
brothers to five years in prison Friday for torching a Christian church
during the height of a dispute over whether non-Muslims can use the
word "Allah" to refer to God.
The firebombing was the first in an unprecedented string of arson
attacks and vandalism at places of worship last January that threatened
decades of religious harmony in this Muslim-majority country. Eleven
churches, a Sikh temple, three mosques and two Muslim prayer rooms were
assaulted before the tensions abated.
Two ethnic Malay Muslim brothers in their 20s were arrested and placed
on trial for the Jan. 8 attack, which partially gutted a Protestant
church. The attack, which did not injure anyone, came days after some
Muslims were angered by a court verdict that allowed Christians to use
the word "Allah" in Malay-language publications.
Komathy Suppiah, a Kuala Lumpur district court judge, convicted both
suspects Friday of "mischief by fire" with the intention of destroying
a place of worship. They had faced a maximum penalty of 20 years in
prison, but Suppiah sentenced them to five years each.
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"You have shamed the society and country. ... The message from this
court must be loud and clear: Don't play with fire," Suppiah said as
the men listened grimly.
However, she allowed them to remain free on bail until their appeal can
be heard.
Both men had pleaded innocent. They testified they were at a restaurant
when they heard people planning to attack the nearby church. They said
they went to the church and saw unidentified men smashing its window
and setting it ablaze.
One of the suspects, Raja Muhammad Faizal Raja Ibrahim, 25, was
detained by police after he sought medical treatment for burn injuries.
He told investigators that he suffered the burns at a barbecue
gathering after he and his brother, Raja Muhammad Idzham, 23, left the
church area.
Judge Suppiah ruled that their testimony was riddled with
inconsistencies.
The Rev. Hermen Shastri, an official with the Council of Churches of
Malaysia, praised the court's decision.
"This serves as a reminder to all citizens of the country that violence
against religious places - be it whatever religion - will not be
tolerated," Shastri told The Associated Press. "This is a clear signal
that basically the majority of Malaysians are peace-loving."
Several other suspects have also been arrested in connection to various
attacks last January that caused mostly minor damage at places of
worship nationwide.
The attacks subsided after the government bolstered security and urged
people not to undermine amicable ties between Malay Muslims, who
account for nearly two-thirds of Malaysia's 28 million people, and
minority ethnic Chinese and Indians who mainly practice Buddhism,
Christianity or Hinduism.
Tensions initially rose after The Herald, the newspaper of the Roman
Catholic Church in Malaysia, challenged a government ban on the use of
"Allah" in its Malay-language publication.
A Dec. 31 court ruling granted the paper the right to use the word.
Some Muslims insist that using "Allah" in Christian literature might
confuse Muslims and tempt them to convert. The government has appealed
the verdict.
Minorities sometimes complain their religious rights are not respected
by the government, which denies any bias.