A Malaysian state government searched for a new site for a Hindu temple Sunday, bowing to pressure from Muslim residents who staged a gruesome protest against its planned construction that triggered debate about religious intolerance.
Authorities in central Selangor state tried to reach a compromise in talks Saturday with residents of the Muslim-majority neighborhood in the state capital, Shah Alam, where the temple was to be built. The meeting descended into chaos when protesters shouted insults at Selangor Chief Minister Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and other lawmakers, according to a video of the meeting posted on Malaysiakini, an independent news Web site.
The protesters insist the temple would be too close to their homes and could generate excessive noise and traffic, which would disrupt their concentration during Muslim prayers.
