Persecuted Churches: The New 1Malaysia?

Normally when asked to pray for persecuted churches, we automatically think of struggling churches in closed countries, far away enough for us not to feel the pinch. Places like China, Vietnam, Cambodia - places where Christianity has been outlawed; forbidden. It would never have crossed our minds that right here, where we are, our churches have been targeted for persecution.

Where Molotov cocktails and arson attacks were once stories of another world and another time, the shocking reality of hate crimes have hit home. Over the past three days, at least 7 churches have been attacked, with the first and worst hit being Metro Tabernacle in Desa Melawati, Kuala Lumpur. The administrative office located at the ground floor of a corner shop lot was gutted in the attack, also destroying thousands of dollars worth of new equipment temporarily stored there whilst awaiting approval for their newly completed church building. Rumours of attacks on private cars bearing Christian symbols, or even Christian materials have been rampant, though this has been denied by authorities.

Peace: history?

Malaysia has historically been a peaceful country, with the famous tagline, "Malaysia, truly Asia" a major badge of honour for the multi-cultural, multi-faith community. It was a matter of pride that all Malaysians got along, despite the obvious differences, with covert sniffs at the decadent West, where they were so... discriminatory (racist, if you will).

Of course, there were the recent incidents, with the cow's head, police brutality against peaceful demonstrators, and as always, the bending over backwards by politicians for the majority Malays, but most of these were relatively easy to consign over as isolated incidents, things that would quickly pass and be forgotten. Haven't we always forgiven and forgotten, or pretended to forget at the least? At any rate, it's just another spat over politics.

Or am I the only one who has been taking it that way? Is peace a thing of the past?

For the sake of a word, blood is shed

Okay, so no blood has actually been spilled yet, but of all things, the incident that (apparently) sparked this whole mess was a ruling by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Dec 31, 2009 that allowed Herald, a Catholic publication to use the word "Allah" to describe the Christian God in their Malay language publications. These offended Malaysian Muslims argue that the word is exclusive to Islam, ignoring the fact that the word itself is an adopted Arabic word (meaning, not a Malay word at all!) that is used by Christians in countries such as Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Indonesia.

Seriously, if you put it that way, by way of precedence that Christians have used the word "God" in English before any of the other religions... On another aside, if they can form a protest (and bring it to court) just because people of another faith used the same name for their god, why can't Christians worldwide sue Hollywood (and all the movie stars) for all the profanities uttered in the name of Jesus? Makes sense, no? In the pursuit of equality and justice and political correctness, yes?

All this really seems to be idle hands being the devil's playground. With nothing else to fight about, they wish to argue over whether people of other faiths can use the same name for their God, accusing them of having evil intents to corrupt. Are mere words so powerful that by me calling my God by your God's name, your faith can be broken?

Do I play with words so much that I don't see the point of this whole war?

Finding Good out of Evil

Rev Ong Sek Leang, Metro Tabernacle's senior pastor, one who would understandably have the right to be upset and demand justice, has amidst the protests and condemnation against these deplorable acts issued a simple verdict of forgiveness. And that is a good thing to take away.

Having said that, moderate Muslims all over Malaysia are stepping up and voicing the fact that no, this act of terrorism does not represent the Muslim majority. In the midst of the fear that Malaysia could very well become a closed Muslim country at the rate things are progressing, it's good to know, intellectually at least, that there are people out there who are fighting for justice, peace, equality and rational decisions, even if it means speaking out against people of their own colour and creed. And that is very good thing to take away.

News sources:

3 Malaysian Churches Attacked in 'Allah' Dispute, The New York Times
Leaders of Metro Tabernacle Church forgive attackers, The Star Online
Miri church attack makes it seven, The Malaysian Insider

Other reads:
Update on Arson Attacks on Churches, Marina Mahathir
Our Failings, Art Harun