KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Islamic authorities on Thursday (January 2nd) seized hundreds of Bibles from a Christian group and questioned two of its officers amid tensions over the use of the word "Allah", AFP reported.

Islamic officials from Selangor seized 16 boxes containing more than 300 Bibles from the Bible Society of Malaysia, said the society's president, Lee Min Choon.

He and a colleague were also detained under a state law that bans non-Muslims from using the word "Allah", Lee said. They were later released but ordered to meet with authorities again next week.

Most of the seized Bibles – imported from Indonesia – were in Malay. A few were in Iban, a language spoken by one of Malaysia's indigenous groups.

"We have been using them (the Bibles) ever since the Society started (in 1985), and even before that," Lee told AFP. "This is the first time we have been raided."

Officials from the Selangor Islamic Religious Department did not immediately return a request for comment.