PASTOR HINN'S SECOND COMING TESTS T&T'S

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 000602

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CAR, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KIRF TD
SUBJECT: PASTOR HINN'S SECOND COMING TESTS T&T'S
RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE


1. SUMMARY: Controversial Pentecostal Pastor Benny
Hinn is scheduled for a second trip to Trinidad and
Tobago in May. His "Miracle Mission" has occasioned
significant dispute in the press, with Hindu leader Sat
Maharaj using his media outlets to question Hinn's
ministry as a sort of revenge for comments Hinn made in

1999. The Inter-Religious Organization, which serves
as an ecumenical council that operates based on
consensus did not support Maharaj's demand that Hinn be
barred from coming, but did suggest that Hinn should
avoid casting aspersions on other faiths. END SUMMARY.


2. Controversial Pentecostal Pastor Benny Hinn, based
in Dallas, TX, is slated for a second mission to
Trinidad and Tobago on May 19-21. His well-publicized
trip has generated quite some controversy, primarily
originating with the outspoken head of the Hindu
community, Sat Maharaj. Hinn first came to T&T in
1999, likewise on a three-day "Miracle Mission," which
involved large public assemblies in the central Queen's
Park Savannah at which Hinn performed his trademark
(and much disputed) miracle healings. Hinn attracted
the ire of the Hindu community when he reportedly said
in 1999 that T&T was a "Voodoo country," "full of
demons" and equated adherents of Hinduism with pagans.
Maharaj writes a weekly editorial in one of the daily
newspapers, has his hands in at least two of the weekly
papers, and has used these journalistic platforms to
exact his vengeance by generating bad press for Hinn.


3. Hinn is coming at the invitation of the Pentecostal
Assemblies of the West Indies, T&T branch. Once they
announced the dates for Hinn's mission, Maharaj mounted
a campaign to discredit Him. Maharaj published
excerpts from the transcript of a December 27, 2002
"Dateline NBC" expose, highlighting Hinn's dubious
accounting practices and questioning claims of miracle
healings attributed to Hinn. Further, Maharaj has
called for Hinn's arrest upon arrival under the Summary
Offenses Act for his previously divisive and offensive
language [NOTE: This Act has reportedly been used in
the past to handle offensive stage performers, but we
have been unable to track down the specific legal
precedent. END NOTE]. To this end, Maharaj wrote a
letter to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of
National Security, and published his letters in the
papers.


4. Maharaj took his case to the Inter-Religious
Organization (IRO),arguing that Hinn should not be
allowed to come to T&T because he will exacerbate
tensions among religions. The IRO, which has
representatives from some 20 different faiths in T&T,
including Muslims, Christians and Hindus, did not come
to consensus on the issue. Instead, the IRO suggested
that Hinn, and the mission's local organizers, be
sensitized to the religious diversity in the country
and requested that Hinn refrain from making derogatory
remarks about any of the other religions. Brother
Noble Khan, an Independent Senator and Secretary of the
IRO by way of his affiliation with the Trinidad Muslim
League, sympathized with Maharaj, and quipped that if
Hinn had said those things about Muslims, they would be
equally put out. However, Khan maintained that T&T is
a tolerant country overall, and that Hinn should be
given an opportunity to speak here, as should any other
missionary. Spiritual Baptist Archbishop Barbara Gray-
Burke stated that she felt hurt by Hinn's comments,
since the "voodoo" remark could refer to her faith as
well, but that he should come and follow guidelines set
out by the IRO so as to avoid insulting other religions
and to not sow division among the different faiths in
the country. The organizers are proceeding with their
plans, and have largely stayed out of discussions about
Hinn's previous statements.


5. COMMENT: Composed as it is of some strong
personalities, the IRO has the unenviable task of
maintaining T&T's interfaith concord. Its policy of
taking decisions only by consensus allows the different
confessions to have their own positions in most issues,
and emphasizes that any decisions taken by the IRO
affect all religions. The IRO maintained a difficult
balance by articulating the values of openness and
tolerance while not granting carte blanche for
missionaries to denigrate other religions. Hinn will
undoubtedly be on notice that any untoward comments on
this trip could exacerbate religious tensions in
Trinidad and Tobago. END COMMENT.


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