Singapore (ENI) Churches in Malaysia have been full of worshipers despite attacks against Christian places of worship in recent months in a dispute about the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslim minorities.
“People’s faith is greater than what’s happening around [them] so they continue to go to church and pray for themselves as well as for the nation,” said Hermen Shastri, the general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia.
Shastri said heightened security measures had been taken following the attacks, which came after a court decision that opened the way for non-Muslim minorities to use the word “Allah” in their religious books and publications. The court decision was criticized by Muslim groups, who have expressed concern that allowing the word “Allah” to be used by other religious groups would encourage proselytizing of Muslims to convert them to Christianity and other faiths.
About nine percent of Malaysia’s 26 million population is Christian.
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