8 Arrested in Firebombing of Malaysian Churches

The attacks followed a recent court ruling that struck down a government ban on the use of Allah to mean God in Malay-language Christian scriptures in this predominantly Muslim nation.

The word Allah had been used for centuries in Malay-language Bibles without major opposition either in Malaysia or in neighboring Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

The police said that the arrested men were ethnic Malays between 21 and 26 years old, all of whom lived near the Metro Tabernacle Church, which was badly damaged on the morning of Jan. 9.

The director of the Criminal Investigations Department, Bakri Zinin, said that one of the suspects had sought hospital treatment for burns on his hands and chest. He also said 5 of the 8 suspects are friends, and the other three are two brothers and their uncle.