American Preacher Lou Engle Investigated By Ministry of Home Affairs After Rice Media Article Controversy
Homophobia, Islamophobia, stirring up religious tensions and promoting feelings of ill-will between Muslims and Christians.
Definitely not things you’d associate with a preacher at a Christian event.
And yet, a saga that’s slowly unfolding involving an American preacher called Lou Engle who came to Singapore from 13 to 16 Mar for the Kingdom Invasion Conference 2018 alleges these exact things.
Let’s take a look at both sides of the debate to make sense of what’s happening here.
Rice Media article alleges Engle was targeting Muslim community
On Sunday (25 Mar), a week before Easter, an article was published on Rice Media’s site, entitled, “Lou Engle: An American Threatens a Christian-Muslim Divide in Singapore”.
The writer, who attended the sermon delivered by Lou Engle, uploaded a recording in which Mr Engle allegedly said from 0.29-0.42,
The Muslims are taking over South, South Spain. And I had a dream, and in the dream, I was calling all of Spain (inaudible)
I say to you, I say to you.
The speaker continues from 0.44-0.55,
In Barcelona, I will raise up the church all over Spain. To hold back the push of the new modern Muslim movement.
In Rice Media’s article, the writer touches on other extreme views towards abortion and homophobia which this speaker allegedly holds.
Mr Lim then questions why Mr Engle was allowed to give a speech at this Christian convention — which is his third visit here since 2016.
The writer claims his attempts to contact the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the police proved futile with regards to this.
He also provides further commentary on “the voice of the conservative Christian community” growing louder in Singapore, a possible “double standards” in the treatment of “various religious groups”.
In particular, that the “authorities have lately been clamping down hard on Islamic extremism”, and that MHA’s initial silence on the matter indicates,
A grey area in which religious leaders are allowed to operate.
You can read the article in full here, and listen to the recording of Mr Engle’s comments here.
Cornerstone Community Church (CCC) calls the cops on Rice Media
CCC’s response was simply to file a police report against Rice Media on the same day (25 Mar).
They claim the inflammatory article “seek(s) to, and has the effect of, stirring up religious tensions and promoting feelings of ill-will and hostility between Christians and Muslims”.
As well as exhibits a “seditious tendency” of “denigrat(ing) the Christian faith”.
Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong from CCC clarified that Mr Engle’s statements were made in reference to the radical Islamic insurgency known as ISIS.
Mr Engle has since apologised for his “choice of words”, which may have caused unintended misunderstandings.
Police have also confirmed that investigations are ongoing, according to The Straits Times.
MHA investigates Engle’s statements
Understandably, the article caused a considerable stir online, leading to MHA answering official media queries as follows on Monday (26 Mar).
MHA says they are “looking into the matter” and the allegations that Mr Engle made statements “in respect of Islam” during the conference.
They confirmed that Mr Engle was granted a “Miscellaneous Work Pass” to speak, and was told to “keep clear of controversial subjects and not undermine social, racial and religious harmony in Singapore”.
However, if there was evidence to suggest that statements made by him had “mixed religion and politics”, MHA would take firm action against him.
MHA reiterated that they will not tolerate any person undermining Singapore’s “social, racial and religious harmony”.
Rice Media stands by what was written
Rice Media, unaware of the police report, stood by the article’s intended purpose — to question why a religious leader “with such divisive and radical ideas” was allowed to speak at a Singaporean conference.
Chief Editor Mark Tan of Rice elaborated that this stance is “inconsistent with the hard line approach” taken by authorities when religious leaders from other faiths were banned.
Here’s what 2 banned preachers said about Islam before
Previously, at least 2 preachers associated with Christianity have been banned from Singapore before.
One preacher was banned for saying these things:
- Allah is “a false god”
- Asking for prayers for those “held captive in the darkness of Islam”
- Referring to Buddhists as “Tohuw people” which means lost, or spiritually barren people
- Saying Buddhists can only be saved by converting to Christianity
The other was banned for talking about the “the evils of Islam”:
- Involving “the malevolent nature of Islam and Mohammed”
- Calling Islam “not a religion of peace” but an “incredibly confused religion”
- Saying Islam is interested in “world domination”
- Saying Islam “adher(es) to uncompromising and cruel laws focused on warfare and virtual slavery”
As can be observed, the nature of these comments, are quite extreme in comparison to what Mr Engle said.
How does Singapore vet foreign religious preachers?
Through an application process for a Miscellaneous Work Pass (MWP) via the Ministry of Manpower.
It’s a special pass granted to people who are speaking at or organising events which relate directly or indirectly to:
- Any religious belief
- Any race or community
- Is directed towards a political end
A foreign religious worker giving talks related to any religion must apply for a pass worth a $70 admin fee, 2 months in advance.
After filling in extensive personal information about work experience, remuneration and other declarations, two additional documents must be submitted — a synopsis of the talk or event, and personal passport details.
This may shed a little more light on why it may be hard to ensure that a speaker sticks to an approved script.
As it turns out, the full transcript of what’s going to be said is not required at this stage of the application.
Of course, it’s also stated that other documents may be asked for when the application is reviewed.
In the previous two cases, perhaps early red flags during background checks of the preachers, found their comments too incendiary to be allowed into Singapore.
What’s next for Mr Engle and Rice Media?
As a police report has been made by Cornerstorne Church against Rice Media’s article, we’ll be awaiting the results of the police investigation with bated breath.
As to why Mr Engle was allowed to visit Singapore three times on speaking engagements, we guess MHA will soon have the answers for us, once they revisit his application.
Do you think Mr Engle’s words were taken out of context by Rice Media, or did he really mean to drive a wedge between Christians and Muslims in Singapore?
Let us know what you think in the comments.
Featured image from Thir.st.
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