US evangelist prohibited from preaching in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram – A US evangelist who was in Kerala recently on an invitation from the Church of South India (CSI) to preach at the annual convention at Amaravila, was prevented by the police from preaching as he had “violated visa norms.”

According to the police, evangelist David Terrel was prohibited from addressing the religious meet on the ground that he was not supposed to evangelise while on a visit on a business or tourist visa.

They said that the visa did not allow missionary activities and Mr. Terrel and the church authorities were appraised of the situation and they agreed to refrain from delivering the sermon.

"Terrel and his companion were told that if they carried out evangelical activities it would amount to violation of visa conditions. They followed our instruction and kept off the convention," a police official said.

The police action followed a complaint by the local Hindu Aikyavedi unit about the possibility of Mr. Terrel preaching at the religious convention.

The All India Christian Council (AICC) has reacted strongly against the police action saying that “India, the largest democracy in the world and a signatory of the 1948 UN Charter on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is deliberately violating fundamental Human Rights of others, yet paradoxically the overseas head quarters of the RSS in New York and California are taking full advantage of the liberties enshrined in the Constitutions of the western world which have their very foundations in the Christian faith.”

“When a person visits any country as a tourist, he is free to attend the places of worship of his or her choice and participate in the religious rites according to the demands of the faith,” said Dr. Abraham Mathai, general secretary, AICC. “It is just absurd of the thought of an Indian visiting the U.S being attacked for visiting a place of worship or proclaiming his faith and being deported subsequently. Such a shameful act is unacceptable in a civilized society such as ours especially when globalization demands interdependence and reciprocity.”

Pointing out that “numerous visitors from the Western nations including the U.S come on tourist visas flocking temples like ISKCON in Mumbai and Rajneesh Ashram in Pune and it is a common site in Mumbai when many of these foreign nationals who are devotees of ISKCON are found propagating and selling religious books and cassettes in the railways stations, bus stands and various public places,” Mathai wondered whether the “followers of Christ” are only singled out.

“It is quite a disturbing fact that the world’s largest democracy is consciously aping the religious intolerance practiced in certain countries of the Middle East which has been the cause of religious fundamentalism and terrorism endangering world peace,” he concluded.