12 Muslims Fined for Malaysia Hindu Temple Protest

July 27, 2010

Author: Julia Zappei

Source: Alabama Live

Wire Service: AP

http://www.al.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/international-35/1280219257311550.xml&storylist=international

A Malaysian court Tuesday fined 12 Muslims and sentenced one of them to a week in prison for illegally protesting the construction of a Hindu temple and parading a severed cow's head.

The protest last August stoked tensions among Malaysia's three main ethnic groups-the Malay Muslim majority and Chinese and Indian minorities, most of them Buddhists, Christians or Hindus who have complained that their religious rights are often sidelined in favor of Islam.