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| Southeast Asia |
| Man acquitted of church torching |
| 2010-07-31 |
| [Straits Times] A MALAYSIAN court on Friday acquitted a Muslim man of arson charges on Friday after he was accused of torching a church during a religious tensions over whether non-Muslims can use the word 'Allah' to refer to God. The firebombing of the church in this Muslim-majority country marked the start of an unprecedented string of assaults on places of worship in January following a court verdict that allowed Christians to use 'Allah' in their Malay-language publications. The attacks threatened decades of harmonious ties between ethnic Malay Muslims, who make up nearly two-thirds of Malaysia's 28 million people, and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians who mainly practice Buddhism, Christianity or Hinduism. Azuwan Shah, 23, was acquitted because of a lack of evidence proving he had a role in starting the fire that partially gutted a Protestant church in a Kuala Lumpur neighborhood on Jan. 8, said his lawyer Rosal Azimin. He said two witnesses testified Azuwan was not at the church when the fire started. Two Muslim brothers charged along with Azuwan were ordered Friday to enter pleas at the Kuala Lumpur district court, Rosal said. The brothers in their 20s face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted of 'mischief by fire' with the intention of destroying a place of worship. |
| Posted by:Fred |