Tuesday, May 2 2006

No Benny Hinn in TT

THE SANTAN Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) is urging Prime Minister Patrick Manning not to allow controversial tele-evangelist Pastor Benny Hinn to hold a three-day crusade in Trinidad and Tobago because it would create discord among the nation’s various religions. However, some of those religious groups have not objected to Hinn’s impending visit and the SDMS has admitted that the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) has not discussed the issue.

Hinn is scheduled to hold crusades at the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain from May 19 to 21 starting at 4 pm each day. A statement on Hinn’s ministry’s website is billing Hinn’s crusade in TT as one of his biggest overseas engagements for 2006. Hinn is also slated to visit Sydney, Australia, on June 23 and 24.

In a series of newspaper ads containing an open letter to Manning, SDMS secretary-general Sat Maharaj said Hinn cast negative aspersions against TT during his last visit here in December 2004 and described this country as a “voodoo land.” Checks on the Internet revealed various online publications describing Hinn as a false prophet and claiming he angered religious communities in some of the countries he visited, including TT.

The SDMS ads also listed a website called www.wittenburg.door.com which claimed additional information to support its argument against Hinn visiting TT could be found.

When Newsday checked that website, it turned out to be a satirical online newsletter entitled “world series of evangelical poker” with information which could be described at best as vague.

Maharaj claimed the SDMS has done “substantial research on Hinn’s ministry and concluded that the alleged “healing” during his crusades were nothing but theatrics “designed to maximise revenues” at those events.

He also alleged that those actions were in violation of the Summary Offences Act. When contacted yesterday about the SDMS’ ads, Maharaj told Newsday the SDMS was merely attempting to sensitise the population about matters relating to Hinn’s ministry and urge them not to attend his upcoming crusade. Maharaj was unable to say if the SDMS plans to take any further action if it does not see a favourable response from Manning to its letter. Whitehall officials yesterday said they were aware of the ads but could not say whether the Prime Minister had received the SDMS’ letter.

Asked if the SDMS had raised its concerns with the IRO or whether the latter was contemplating some kind of action to call for Hinn’s upcoming crusade to be aborted, Maharaj replied in the negative on both counts. When contacted yesterday, ASJA president Yacoob Ali said he was aware of the concerns which the SDMS had raised about Hinn.

Ali said while ASJA had some concerns about Hinn’s ministry, it did not object to his visit since freedom of worship was enshrined in the Constitution.

Anglican Bishop, Rev Calvin Bess, said the Anglican community did not have a problem with Hinn’s visit. Both men said Maharaj has not discussed the SDMS’ concerns with them nor has the IRO discussed the matter.