Pigs' heads found at Malaysia mosque amid Allah row

Pig heads were found at two mosques near a neighbourhood hit by an ethnic clash nine years ago, Malaysian police said, following a series of recent arson and vandalism attacks on religious places of worship. The discovery of the pig heads - an animal considered offensive to Muslims and whose consumption is prohibited - could further inflame tensions in the mainly Muslim country, prompting police to issue a stern warning against stirring up emotions.

Eleven churches, a Catholic school, a Sikh temple, three mosques and two Muslim prayer rooms so far have been hit by arson or vandalism in recent weeks amid a row over the use of the word "Allah" by Christians.

Police said that two pig heads were found at a mosque in a mainly Malay but racially mixed neighbourhood in Kuala Lumpur, and another two at a mosque on the outskirts of the capital. The mosques are located near a neighbourhood which in 2001 was hit by an ethnic clash that local media said left six people dead.

Khalid said police were working closely with local mosque and neighbourhood committees to try and keep residents calm.

The row stems from a court ruling on Dec. 31 last year allowing a Catholic newspaper to use the word "Allah" in its Malay-language editions to describe the Christian God. The use of the word is common among Malay-speaking Christians, who account for 9.1 percent of the 28 million population, mostly in the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak. A group created in the online networking site Facebook to protest the use of the word by non-Muslims has so far attracted more than 250,000 people.

Police have so far arrested 19 people over the attacks, and a 25-year-old Malay student was charged in court on Jan. 15 with threatening public safety following a comment he allegedly made on his Facebook page offering to throw petrol bombs.

The government of Prime Minister Najib Razak is appealing against the court verdict and has condemned the arson and vandalism attacks, but analysts say he may lose votes among non-Muslims unhappy with the row.