Claiming fraud, Anglican clerics seek action against Muslim preacher posing as ex-priest

BY IDA LIM

KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — Three of Malaysia’s most senior Anglican clergymen want the authorities to act against award-winning Islamic scholar Ayub Abdul Rahman whom they allege has been speaking in public under the fraudulent guise of a former Christian cleric with their church.

Datuk Ng Moon Hing, the Anglican Church’s archbishop for Southeast Asia; Melter Tais, the bishop of the Sabah diocese and Datuk Bolly Lapok, bishop of the diocese of Kuching denounced those who have been repeatedly highlighting the preacher’s alleged past Christian association without due checks.

“Such actions are mischievous and harmful in a multi-religious society,” the trio said in a joint statement to Malay Mail Online last night.

The Christian clerics also said the misrepresentation of Ayub’s credentials in promotional posters suggest a “sinister” motive on the preacher’s part, those organising talks featuring the latter, or the media that sought to highlight the “false” credentials without verification.

“We call on the organisers immediately to correct the grave error to which they have contributed and the utterly false impression that has been given about the speaker.

“We also call on the relevant authorities to investigate this matter thoroughly in order to prevent the perpetration of such forms of fraud on unsuspecting members of the public,” they said.

– See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/claiming-fraud-anglican-clerics-seek-action-against-muslim-preacher-posing?utm_content=buffer3682c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#sthash.P9Y1qryW.XAMCMP1O.dpuf

Alleged priest-turned-Muslim preacher now nixed from Sabah convention

By Ida Lim

KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 — After claims of Ustaz Ayub Abdul Rahman’s alleged past service in the German priesthood were debunked, organisers of a Sabah convention that was to feature the Islamic scholar have completely removed his name from its lineup of events.

According to fresh promotional materials of the “Mahrajan Ilmu Al-Quran Sabah 2016” posted on Facebook this afternoon, Ayub, who was initially slated to speak in at least two events, will no longer take the stage during the convention.

The materials posted by Institut Pengajian al-Quran (IPaQ), a co-organiser of the event that kicked off today, instead showed the list of the convention’s other speakers for a series of talks to be held several locations during the two-day programme.

Controversy first arose when Facebook users spotted an April 12 poster on the Sabah Islamic Religious Affairs Department’s (Jheains) page that described Ayub as a former priest at the Church of St Augustine of Canterbury at “Frankfurter” in Germany and the 2005 recipient of the Maal Hijrah Personality award for Sarawak in the category of new Muslim converts.

Users suggested that his credentials were made up, and this was later confirmed by the Episcopal church in Wiesbaden, Germany, who told Malay Mail Online that Ayub had never served as a priest nor held any official functions there.