I, as I'm sure many of you are too, am extremely disheartened and disappointed by the ongoings in Malaysia now.
(CNN) -- Attackers firebombed three churches in the southeast Asian nation of Malaysia overnight, assaults that come amid widespread Muslim ire over a court ruling that allowed Christians to use the word Allah as a term for God.
The violence comes as Muslims protest a recent court ruling that allowed a Catholic newspaper to use the word "Allah" for God. Muslims believe Allah, an Arabic word, should only be used by Muslims.
While disappointed, I can't say I'm surprised as many of us probably knew deep in our hearts something like this was inevitable. While I think the issue at hand (of the usage of a mere word) is petty, I'll stay clear of this since I'm fairly equivocal myself. What's disturbing is how groups are using violence, and threats of violence (seen on the website hackings) to intimidate others. This, in full defiance of the Malaysian courts; when the people disagree with the court, they take matters into their own hands. What kind of society does that make you? A vigilante, mob society?
In a highly polarized society as Malaysia's, with all her discriminatory practices, it has been so ingrained in some groups that they have certain privileges, while other groups are merely immigrants (never mind that they are 2nd, 3rd or 4th generation Malaysians). You knew it was a matter of time before something happened. After all, just how many times have the rest of us received subtle threats, like "Don't ask for too much, or else..." or "Remember May 13th" or simply "You should be thankful that we let you stay" like we just got off the boat from China.
With the firebombing of the churches, I imagine the court decision will be eventually 'overturned' which should appease the ignorant, unsophisticated mobs out there. However this will not be a good thing on several levels either; for one it serves to show that religious extremism and violence gets priority over the legal system and this will only positively reinforce these zealots. Secondly, the implications of the renewed peace that follows is, you'd better agree with us the next time, otherwise we'll do something harsh again. It's racial intimidation against the minorities.
On the international stage, even people I know here, are starting to compare Malaysian to countries of religious extremism, intolerance and terrorism. Because this was an act of terrorism.
On that level, perhaps I cannot comprehend this because I'm not very religious, but really, if you're trying to convince the world that your religion is one of peace, then resorting to threats, waving kerises, firebombs whenever someone disagrees with you, seems like a retarded way of convincing others.
It seems ironic that as a Malaysian, I've always face more discrimination, and felt more like a 2nd class citizen in my home country, than I have in these 12 years in North America. Thus, it's a good thing that I am making here home now.
This week, Malaysia has taken a giant step backwards. This week, Freedom bleeds.