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Kuala Lumpur. Firebombs were thrown at three more churches in Malaysia on Sunday and another was splashed with black paint in the latest in a series of assaults on Christian places of worship.

A Molotov cocktail was hurled at the All Saints Church in Taiping in central Perak state early in the morning, said state police chief Zulkifli Abdullah. There were burn marks on the wall but no damage to the building. Also early on Sunday in Taiping, a broken kerosene bottle with an unlit wick was found inside the compound of the St. Louis Catholic Church, said the Rev. David Lourdes. He said it appeared to be a failed attack.

In southern Malacca, the Malacca Baptist Church’s outer wall was splashed with black paint, and a church in Miri in eastern Sarawak state on Borneo also reported an arson attempt.

Four churches were hit by gasoline bombs on Friday and Saturday. No one was hurt and three of them suffered little damage, but fire gutted the first floor of the Metro Tabernacle Church, forcing parishioners there to move services. The other churches held regular services on Sunday.

The attacks have created disquiet among Malaysia’s Christians and strained ties with the majority Muslims.

The attacks were triggered by a Dec. 31 High Court decision that overturned a government order banning non-Muslims from using the word “Allah” in their prayers and literature. The court was ruling on a petition by Malaysia’s Roman Catholic Church, whose main publication, the Herald, uses the word Allah in its Malay-language edition.

The government has appealed the verdict.

Said Agil Siradj, head of the Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, said a lack of knowledge about other religions may have caused the extreme reactions to the court ruling. He said the Koran teaches Muslims to live in tolerance with other religions.

“People claim they study their religion but their knowledge doesn’t run deep enough,” he said.

Former Muhammadiyah chairman Syafii Maarif said he regretted the attacks and called on religious leaders in Indonesia to exercise calm in the face of “irresponsible acts.”

“I believe that religious organizations such as NU and Muhammadiyah have to play a bigger role in calling on their followers to prevent violence as a solution to problems,” he said.

Rev. Hermen Shastri, general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia, said Christians won’t be intimidated by the attacks, which he described as the work of an extremist minority.

“We all have to stand together to stamp out terror perpetuated by these extremist groups,” he said.

The government contends that making “Allah” synonymous with God may confuse Muslims.

Still, government leaders and many Muslims have condemned the bombings, saying it is un-Islamic to attack places of worship.