 Police in Malaysia have arrested eight men they said were believed to have been involved in the firebombing of a Christian church earlier this month. There have been at least 12 attempted attacks on religious institutions since a court verdict on New Year's Eve allowed non-Muslims to use the word "Allah" when referring to God. The ensuing protests and violence have heightened religious tensions in the Muslim-majority nation. Bakri Zinin, Malaysia's federal criminal investigation chief said police were investigating whether the eight arrested were also linked to the attacks on 10 other churches, which had been pelted with Molotov cocktails, stones and paint. "Eight people have been arrested and they are believed to be involved in the arson attack on the [Metro Tabernacle] church. They have been remanded for seven days to facilitate investigations," he told reporters on Wednesday. "We will investigate whether they are also linked to other cases [but] we believe we have solved this case. So please I advise the public, don't do something that will threaten racial and religious harmony." The three-storey Metro Tabernacle church in Kuala Lumpur was set ablaze on January 8 in a firebombing that left its ground floor destroyed. Church leaders said witnesses saw four people ride up to the building on motorbikes, smash the church's windows and throw objects into the building. Bakri said the first of the eight to be arrested was detained on Tuesday after seeking hospital treatment for burns on his hands and chest. The group were all aged between 21 and 26, and included three relatives - two siblings and their uncle. The remainder were friends of the family group. Last month, the High Court ruled in favour of the Catholic Herald newspaper which has used "Allah" as a translation for "God" in its Malay-language section. Malaysia's government has said the word should be used only by Muslims. The court's final ruling on the issue was suspended pending an appeal, after the government argued the decision could cause racial conflict. Malaysia's population is 60 per cent Muslim ethnic Malay, but also includes indigenous tribes as well as the large ethnic Chinese and Indian communities that practice Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism, among other faiths. More than half of Malaysia's Catholics are from indigenous groups, most of whom live in the Borneo island states and who mainly speak Malay. Al Jazeera 
 Richard Lloyd Parry The church attacks reflect deep and long-running tensions in Malaysia. It seemed to come out of nowhere, it ran its course within a fortnight, and the damage inflicted was mild compared with religious conflicts in other parts of the world.
But this month’s attacks on churches in Malaysia, which petered out last week leaving one gutted by fire and nine others vandalised, is a sinister development, a portent of great changes afoot in what used to be one of South East Asia’s most stable and peaceful democracies. On the face of it, the attacks were provoked by a simmering and – to many outsiders – absurd controversy about the use of the word Allah. But below that, they suggest deep and long-running tensions in a country which has successfully bottled them up for 40 years. The row – over whether Christians should have the right to use the word Allah to refer to their own God in Malaysian-language Bibles and liturgy – is just the latest in a series of manifestations of a rising current of conservative Islam. In other incidents last year, a 32-year old mother was convicted for drinking a can of beer, and Muslim demonstrators outraged Hindu opinion by marching with the head of a dead cow, an animal sacred to Hinduism, to oppose the construction of a proposed temple. Malaysia’s success since its independence from Britain in 1963 has been to neutralise the rivalry and mutual dislike between its small majority of Malays (who by law are Muslim) and its Chinese and Indian minorities (who are Christian, Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh). Relations between Malays and Chinese, in particular, have been marked over the years by outbreaks of mutual antipathy rooted in racial dislike which in Malaysia’s neighbour Indonesia have intermittently erupted into deadly violence. In the Chinese racist stereotype, Malays are lazy, stupid, uneducated, unhygienic and feckless. The equivalent Malay view sees Chinese as clannish, patronising, greedy, dishonest and opportunistic. In May 1969, these resentments boiled over in race riots which killed scores, and perhaps hundreds, of people in Malaysia. The Government’s response was to establish the New Economic Policy, based upon a system of positive discrimination for Malays, who were given favourable access to education, and to business and property subsidies. For years, the resentment among the minorities of such official discrimination was offset by an understanding that it was also a guarantee of long-term racial harmony. The racial character of Malaysian politics was engraved in the name of its rulers. The Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition, which has held power since independence, is a coalition of parties based upon ethnic identity – one Indian, one Chinese, and, dominating all of them, the United Malay National Organisation (Umno). But in the past ten years, the racial texture of Malaysian life and society has altered, and politics is struggling to keep up. Better educated, better off, and increasingly cosmopolitan, young Malaysians of all backgrounds are less prone to identify themselves purely in racial terms. Opposition parties have been successful campaigning on an inclusive, non-racial platform. After making huge gains in the last general election in 2008, they are now in a position to drive the Barisan Nasional out of power at the next. The result has been confusion among Umno and its partners. Since the retirement of Mahathir Mohamad, the towering figure in Malaysian politics since the 1970s, the party has lacked a convincing leader. Umno is not essentially a party of fundamentalist Islam, but as its racial base erodes it has – inconsistently and without much strategic planning – attempted to curry favour with ultra-conservative Muslims in the hope that religion may fill the ideological gap left by Malay nationalism. A shrewder leader, such as Dr Mahathir, would not have let the Allah row – a ridiculous dispute over a word used without comment by Christians in countries such as Indonesia and Syria – assume the dimensions which it has. But his successor as Prime Minister, Najib Razak, has stoked it. When a court ruled on December 31 that the ban on the use of Allah by Christians was unconstitutional, he had an opportunity to drop the whole thing. Instead, his Government appealed against the decision, and the attacks followed. The police have made no arrests. The physical damage which the attacks have caused may have been minimal. But the damage to the cause of racial harmony in Malaysia is impossible to calculate. Times Online
 Western intellectuals and commentators refer to the enemy's ideology as:
"Islamic Fundamentalism", "Islamic Extremism", "Totalitarian Islam", "Islamofascism", "Political Islam", "Militant Islam", "Bin Ladenism", "Islamonazism", "Radical Islam", "Islamism", etc....
The enemy calls it "Islam".
Imagine, if during past wars, we used terms such as "Radical Nazism", "Extremist Shinto" and "Militant Communism". Those who use terms other than "Islam" create the impression that it's some variant of Islam that's behind the enemy that we're facing.
A term such as "Militant Islam" is redundant, but our politicians continue praising Islam as if it were their own religion. Bush told us, "Islam means peace" -- after 2,996 Americans were murdered in its name.
He maintained that illusion throughout his two terms, and never allowed our soldiers to defeat the enemy. And now we have Obama, who tells us, from Egypt: “I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear." Washington's defense of Islam has trumped the defense of America and this dereliction of duty could well be called Islamgate.
Islam is a political religion; the idea of a separation of Mosque and state is unheard of in the Muslim world. Islam has a doctrine of warfare, Jihad, which is fought in order to establish Islamic ("Sharia") Law, which is, by nature, totalitarian.
Sharia Law calls for, among other things: the dehumanization of women; the flogging/stoning/killing of adulterers; and the killing of homosexuals, apostates and critics of Islam. All of this is part of orthodox Islam, not some "extremist" form of it. If jihadists were actually "perverting a great religion", Muslims would have been able to discredit them on Islamic grounds and they would have done so by now. The reason they can't is because jihadists are acting according to the words of Allah, the Muslim God. From the Koran:
"Slay the idolators wherever you find them..." Chapter 9, verse 5
"When you encounter the unbelievers, strike off their heads until you have made a great slaughter among them...." Ch. 47:4
Beyond the doctrine, there is the historical figure of Mohammad, who, more than anyone, defines Islam. How would you judge a man who lies, cheats, steals, rapes and murders as a way of life?
This evil man is Islam's ideal man, Mohammad. Whatever he said and did is deemed moral by virtue of the fact that he said it and did it. It's no accident that the only morality that could sanction his behavior was his own. Nor is it an accident that Muslims who model themselves after him are the most violent. For the 13 years that Mohammad failed to spread Islam by non-violent means, he was not so much peaceful as he was powerless. It was only through criminal activity that he gained power and a large gang of followers.
But he wanted his moral pretense, too, so he changed Islam to reflect the fact that the only way it could survive was through force. And so, acting on Allah's conveniently timed "revelation" that Islam can and should be spread by the sword, Mohammad led an army of Muslims across Arabia in the first jihad.
From then on, violence became Islam's way in the world. And today, acting on Mohammad's words, "War is deceit", Muslims use earlier "peaceful" verses from the Koran as a weapon against the ignorance and good will of their victims.
Those "peaceful" passages in the Koran were abrogated by later passages calling for eternal war against those who do not submit to Islam. How Mohammad spread Islam influenced the content of its doctrine and therefore tells us exactly what Islam means.
Note also that the only reason we're talking about Islam is because we've been forced to by its jihad. And where are Islam's "conscientious objectors"? Nowhere to be found, for even lax Muslims have been silent against jihad. But that doesn't stop desperate Westerners from pointing to them as representives of "Moderate Islam".
Far from being a personal faith, Islam is a collectivist ideology that rejects a live-and-let-live attitude towards non-Muslims.
And while the jihadists may not represent all Muslims, they do represent Islam.
In the end, most Muslims have proven themselves to be mere sheep to their jihadist wolves, irrelevant as allies in this war. Recovering Muslims call the enemy's ideology "Islam", and they dismiss the idea of "Moderate Islam" as they would the idea of "Moderate Evil". When, based on his actions, Mohammad would be described today as a "Muslim Extremist", then non-violent Muslims should condemn their prophet and their religion, not those who point it out.
Islam is the enemy's ideology and evading that fact only helps its agents get away with more murder than they would otherwise. Western politicians have sold us out, so it's up to the rest of us to defend our way of life by understanding Islam and telling the truth about it in whatever way we can.
If we can't even call Islam by its name, how the hell are we going to defend ourselves against its true believers? One could argue that we'd be better off if the West would just choose one of the many terms currently used for the enemy's ideology. For my part, I call the enemy what they are, "Jihadists", and our response, "The War on Jihad." But behind it all, it's Islam that makes the enemy tick.
Despite my frustrations with the refusal of many to call Islam "Islam", I know that those who speak out against Jihad put themselves in danger, and I respect their courage. But it's important that we acknowledge Islam's place in the threat we face and say so without equivocation. Not saying "Islam" helps Islam and hurts us. So let's begin calling the enemy's ideology by its name.
Let's start calling Islam "Islam." Bosch Fawstin is an ex-Muslim, caricature artist and the author "Propiganda", a caricature presentation of Islam. Visit his website: http://fawstin.blogspot.com/. This article appeared in Infidel Bloggers Alliance website. Thanks to Islam Watch
 Malaysia's Home Ministry held a briefing for foreign diplomats on Monday to try to ease their concerns about the recent spate of attacks on Christian churches. But rather than offering a rational explanation of what exactly the Government is trying to achieve with its attempts to limit the use of the word Allah, the diplomats heard this: Our landscape is different from other countries. Malays here are different from other countries. So said Home Ministry secretary, Gen. Mahmood Adam. And he may well be right about that, but he was still avoiding the issue. Because the one fact that the Government still refuses to acknowledge is that the essence of this controversy lies not in the nature of Malaysia's culture, but in the direct actions of its Government. It was the Government, not the people, that introduced legislation establishing the principle that the word Allah is exclusive to Islam. (A claim that has been convincingly debunked by numerous experts. Here's one succinct explanation.) What's especially comical is that even Malaysia's own Islamic leaders don't agree with the Government. based on Islamic principles, the use of the word Allah by the people of the Abrahamic faiths such as Christianity and Judaism, is acceptable, Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (a Muslim) concurs: With respect to the use of the word Allah, it cannot be disputed that Arabic speaking Muslims, Christians and Jews have collectively prayed to God as Allah throughout the last fourteen centuries. While sensitivities over its usage have arisen in Malaysia, the way to resolve these conflicts is not by burning churches and staging incendiary protests but by reasoned engagement and interreligious dialogue. Bizarrely, the consistent calls for dialogue over issues of religious sensitivities continue to go unheeded. (The Jakarta Post expresses similar concerns about the situation in Indonesia here.) And all the while that Malaysia's Home Ministry continues to maintain the fiction that somehow its position is the Malaysian people's position, it is truly missing the wood for the trees. Because once this particular issue fades away, what will inevitably be left behind in the minds of foreign diplomats - and investors - will be another paragraph in the catalogue of niggling entries that mark Malaysia as a "risk", a country increasingly unable to reconcile its religious and racial communities, thanks in large part to tone-deaf government. Al Jazeera
 By JAMES HOOKWAY and CELINE FERNANDEZ KUALA LUMPUR :If a Malaysian High Court ruling stands, Roman Catholics here can resume using the word "Allah" as their translation for God in their local language. The court on New Year's Eve overturned a three-year-old government ban that prevented the Catholic Church from using the term Allah in its literature.
The Arabic word has been used by various faiths in this Muslim-majority nation for centuries, and the church argues that it is the only suitable way to denote God in the Malay language. Other options, such as "Tuhan," or Lord, aren't as appropriate, says Rev. Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the church's Herald newspaper. He called Judge Lau Bee Lan's decision a landmark ruling that upholds constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and religion. But some people fear the ruling is only the first round in what they see as a longer campaign by a broad spectrum of Muslims to make this religiously diverse, resource-rich nation more Islamic.
Prosecutors could file an appeal as soon as Monday, and Islamic activists already are demanding the ruling be overturned. A government spokesman couldn't be reached to comment. The linguistic dispute over the word Allah comes amid a flurry of other controversies that have convinced many Malaysians that their country is adopting an increasingly politicized interpretation of Islam. Some analysts fear it could eventually turn off international investors. In recent months, a Muslim Shariah court sentenced a woman who ordered a beer in a hotel bar to be caned, while a group of Muslim men desecrated the proposed location of a Hindu temple near Kuala Lumpur by tossing a severed cow's head onto the site as police stood aside. The increasingly religious bent of Malaysia's authorities contrasts sharply with the country's reputation as a holdout for moderation in the Islamic world.
Malaysia's diverse makeup -- around 60% of Malaysia's 27 million people are ethnic-Malay Muslims, while the rest are mostly ethnic-Chinese and Indians -- has encouraged trade and investment. For a while, the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur were the tallest buildings in the world, and the country hosts a large technology industry in addition to sprawling palm oil plantations and natural-gas reserves. The character of the country has changed, however. As Islam emerged as a political force across the Muslim world, Malaysian leaders encouraged the spread of Shariah courts and a Muslim-dominated bureaucracy. The ruling, however, adds to signs that some Malaysians may be ready to push back against the Islamist tide, or at least act to prevent it from becoming more powerful, observers say. In an interview in November, Prime Minister Najib Razak said the government would resist efforts by Islamist hard-liners to turn Malaysia into a more-radical Islamic nation. "We are going to maintain what we are today -- a moderate Muslim state," Mr. Najib said. The Herald newspaper filed a lawsuit against the government's ban on it using the word Allah in 2007. Malaysian authorities were concerned that the word would confuse or mislead Muslims, and that the term should be reserved exclusively for Islam. The ban hindered the Malay-language edition of the Herald, which is read mostly by indigenous tribes who converted to Catholicism and other forms of Christianity. It added to the grievances of Malaysia's religious minorities, who complain they are discriminated against by the Muslim-dominated government -- a claim the government denies. The ban on Christians using the word Allah was imposed before Mr. Najib became prime minister, and some observers suggest he might not want to pursue the case in order to help improve religious relations.
The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, a key member of an opposition coalition, already has urged its followers to respect the court's verdict. Muslim activists have grown more powerful, however, and the government may be unable to resist pressure to appeal the Allah ruling, observers say. WSJ
Christians launch petition for use of the word "Allah" Support is expected from Muslims, in addition to Jews and Christians around the world. The petition can also be signed via the internet. The diocese of Kuala Lumpur continues its legal battle against the government, to use the word "Allah" in Catholic publications.
Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews) - A group of Christians in Sabah has launched a petition drive to force the government to lift its ban on the use of the word "Allah," which according to the interior ministry should be used only by Muslims.
The campaign was launched last March 4, and will continue until March 29. In a few days, the website has gathered thousands of signatures, including from local Muslims and Hindus. In April, the signatures that have been collected via the internet and on paper will be presented to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The author of the campaign is Jeffrey Kitingan, brother of the deputy prime minister of Sabah, Joseph Pairin Kitingan. Sabah and Sarawak, the Malaysian provinces on the island of Borneo, are the area with the largest concentration of Catholics. Out of 900,000 faithful in all of Malaysia, at least 600,000 live in Sabah and Sarawak.
Ronnie Klassen, a businessman and one of the other organizers of the campaign, says that he hopes the online version will bring support from the international community and from the Vatican. This, he says, is "an issue that is very dear to all Christians as it is to members of the two other Abrahamic faiths, Judaism and Islam."
The problem emerged at least two years ago, when the security ministry banned the use of the word "Allah" (God) in the Malay language insert in the Catholic weekly "Herald," citing "reasons of security" and of "possible confusion" among Muslims, which "could harm public order."
The Catholic Church has used the word "Allah" to refer to God for centuries.
The ban also applies to publications, songs, and ceremonies in all other Christian Churches. There is confusion in the government, and subservience toward groups of Muslim voters. The security ministry recently revisited and reconfirmed its decision against the "Herald." In the same way, the interior ministry last February 16 gave permission to use the word "Allah," as long as it is clearly displayed that the publication is "for Christians only." But at the end of February, it backtracked on the permission and reaffirmed the ban, threatening to take measures.
The archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur has taken the government to court, insisting that the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The first hearing in the case was held last February 27, and was adjourned until May 28.
Referring to the recent events, Klassen says: "We feel hurt, insulted and ridiculed by a government that only believes in its righteousness."
Source: http://new.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=14666&theme=5&size=
 Alsager School, near Stoke, has received furious complaints from parents after
2 boys were punished for refusing to kneel to Allah during a religious studies classTwo schoolboys were given detention after refusing to kneel down and 'pray to Allah' during a religious education lesson. Parents were outraged that the two boys from year seven (11 to 12-year-olds) were punished for not wanting to take part in the practical demonstration of how Allah is worshipped. They said forcing their children to take part in the exercise at Alsager High School, near Stoke-on-Trent - which included wearing Muslim headgear - was a breach of their human rights. One parent, Sharon Luinen, said: "This isn't right, it's taking things too far. "I understand that they have to learn about other religions. I can live with that but it is taking it a step too far to be punished because they wouldn't join in Muslim prayer. Read more ...Source: Daily MailAlsager School
Latest recipient of The Dhimmi Award
It seems Muslims are digging themselves deeper into the hole that seperates them from all other religions and faiths. We constantly refer to a Supreme Being as "GOD" or "FATHER" or "JEHOVAH" or "ALMIGHTY" or "LORD" or "THE CREATOR" or "ELOHIM" or "YAHWEH" but we can't call God "Allah" anymore! No sir! We get this note from Malaysia: KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: A Roman Catholic newspaper cleared its first legal hurdle Monday in its fight against a Malaysian government ban on Christians using the word “Allah” as a synonym for “God.”
The Herald is seeking to reverse a government order that prohibits the paper from using the word “Allah” in its Malay-language section.
The government says the word refers only to the Muslim God and its use by Christians might confuse Muslims.
It has threatened to revoke the paper’s publishing license if it defies the order. The Herald also wants a court declaration that “Allah” is not for exclusive use by Muslims. “The court agreed that the church’s application is not frivolous nor vexatious nor an abuse of process. It deserves to be heard,” said Derek Fernandez, a lawyer for the newspaper. The court will set a trial date later, Fernandez told reporters. The Herald — which publishes in the English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil languages — insists that “Allah” is an Arabic word that predates Islam and has been used for centuries to mean “God” in Malay. The case is an example of Malaysian religious minorities’ increasing complaints that their rights have been undermined by government efforts to bolster the status of Islam, Malaysia’s official religion. (Ethnic Malays, virtually all of them Muslims, make up nearly 60 percent of Malaysia’s 27 million people. The main minorities are ethnic Chinese and Indians, and most of them are Buddhists, Christians and Hindus.) Dissatisfaction with court rulings over Muslims’ legal right to leave Islam — along with other religious issues like state authorities’ demolition of Hindu temples, contributed to the ruling government coalition’s poor performance in March elections — when it lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament. In a separate case in Malaysia, the Sabah Evangelical Church of Borneo has also filed a lawsuit in an effort to be allowed to use “Allah” after officials last year banned the import of books containing the word. Hearings in that case were still in the preliminary stages but I gues that it all boils down to the fact that Islam is trying to seperate itself from other mainstream religions and thereby drive a wedge between them. To announce that your God cannot be refered to by none muslims suggests that Islam is either superior or that other religions are inferior and not worthy of consideration. A very dangerous mind-set, no matter how you look at it!Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://Allans-Perspective.blogspot.com Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://allans-perspective.blogspot.com
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Police in Malaysia have arrested eight men they said were believed to have been involved in the firebombing of a Christian church earlier this month. 
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