• Amrita Malhi

20 January 2010Attacks on Christian churches in Malaysia tell us more about shifting political faultlines than about religious attitudes, writes Amrita Malhi in Inside Story

THE GROUND FLOOR of a three-storey building on a busy corner stands gutted by fire, as cars and pedestrians stream by. Inside, burnt-out computers and monitors lie surrounded by shards of broken glass and concrete, blackened by smoke. Outside, police find a spanner, a kerosene container and two scorched motorcycle helmets.

This is the Assemblies of God Metro Tabernacle in the shopping precinct of Desa Melawati, a suburb on Kuala Lumpur’s northern fringe. Its offices were attacked by arsonists, who broke the ground floor windows at midnight on 8 January, throwing molotov cocktails inside the building. Witnesses reported four men, riding together on two motorbikes, speeding from the scene...

Read the full article in Inside Story

Photo: Keith Binns/ iStockphoto.com