Malaysia Crushing Churches

Malaysian non-Muslims threatened by rise of Islam
Islamic Tolerance Alert from modern, moderate Malaysia: "Rise of Islam rankles Malaysia's minority faiths," by Liau Y-Sing Sun for Reuters :

KAMPUNG JIAS, Malaysia (Reuters) - Deep in the heart of a Malaysian jungle, a preacher holds a meeting under the scorching midday sun, urging followers not to lose faith after their church was demolished by the government.

The razing of their simple brick church, among a spate of demolitions of non-Muslim places of worship in Malaysia, has heightened fears that the rights of minority faiths are being eroded despite provisions in Malaysian law guaranteeing every person the freedom to profess his own religion.

"Why did the government tear down our church when they say we are free to choose our religion?" asked preacher Sazali Pengsang.

"This incident will not stop me from practicing my faith," Sazali said, as he watched children in ragged clothes playing catch in a poor village populated by indigenous tribespeople who recently converted to Christianity from their tribal faith.

The church in northeastern Kelantan state bordering Thailand is one of several non-Muslim places of worship recently pulled down by the authorities, a trend that's fuelling concern about a rise in hardline Islam in this moderate Muslim country.

JW

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Al-Qaeda 'kills, wounds' 4000 in six months
From correspondents in Baghdad
July 11, 2007

AL-QAEDA in Iraq killed or wounded more than 4000 Iraqis in suicide attacks in the past six months, US military spokesman Brigadier General Kevin Bergner said today.

Bergner said most of these attacks were carried out by foreign-born “terrorists” and that while their numbers are “relatively small ... their effects are very, very devastating on the people of Iraq.”

He said that around 60 to 80 foreigners are brought to Iraq every month by al-Qaeda in Iraq, a local militant group that sprang up in the wake of the US-led invasion of March 2003 and professes allegiance to the global Jihadi front.

“They are the principal threat in a complex security environment. al-Qaeda is the principal destability factor targeting the Government of Iraq,” Brig-Gen Bergner said, in a weekly briefing largely dedicated to the al-Qaeda threat.

He said US-led coalition forces continued to target the group's strongholds across Iraq and that they had “killed or captured 26 high-level leaders during May and June”.