This Muslim Preacher Fooled M'sians For 10 Years Until A Letter Exposed Him As An Impostor
The man in question is Ustaz Ayub Abdul Rahman, who claims to be a former Christian priest who converted to Islam.
By Tang Ruxyn — 21 Apr 2016, 06:31 PM
Ustaz Ayub Abdul Rahman, a Muslim preacher who claims be a former Christian priest from a church in Germany was scheduled to speak at SIDMA College Sabah for the 'Mahrajan Ilmu Al-Quran Sabah 2016' convention, yesterday, 20 April
Ayub was scheduled to be one of the speakers for the two-day convention, organised by Institut Pengajian al-Quran (IPaQ), that kicked off yesterday, 20 April.
In a promotional poster that was posted on Sabah Islamic Religious Affairs Department's (Jheains) Facebook page, Ayub was described as a former priest at the Church of St Augustine of Canterbury at "Frankfurter" in Germany.
The poster also stated that Ayub was the recipient of the Maal Hijrah Personality award in 2005 for Sarawak in the category of new Muslim converts.
He was to give a free of charge talk on Perjalanan Hijrah & Dakwah ― Catatan Kehidupan (Chronicles of life ― a journey of migration and Islamic missions).
However, in an unexpected turn of events, Ayub's name was removed from the lineup of events at the very last minute
A new promotional poster (right) that omitted Ayub from the speaker lineup was uploaded on Facebook just hours before the scheduled talk was supposed to happen.
Image via FacebookThis came after some netizens indicated that Ayub's credentials were made up, a claim that was supported by a letter which surfaced on social media.
The letter debunks the preacher's claim that he was a Christian priest who converted to Islam sometime ago.
The said letter that was dated 15 January 2016, addressed to Reverend Datuk Ng Moon Hing, Bishop of West Malaysia and Archbishop Elect from Reverend Pierre W. Whalon has been circulating on social media. The letter confirmed speculations that Ayub is potentially an impostor.
"As Bishop in charge of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, I certify to you that no priest named "Al Fadhil Ustaz Ayob Abdul Rahman" has ever served as a priest in our parish of St. Augustine of Canterbury in Wiesbaden, Germany, or in any Episcopal congregation in Europe or elsewhere," Reverend Pierre wrote.
"Furthermore, an Internet search shows that this fellow's claims have been made and debunked before," he added.
To date, it remains unclear as to why the organisers had proceeded to invite Ayub, as some had pointed out that his background remains highly questionable
Ayub had claimed that he was formerly known as 'Reverand Anthony Samy Perumal Viagulam' but Reverend Pierre said that no one by that name or anything close is listed as an ordained Episcopal priest.
Image via AbunuhaAn Utusan Malaysia article dated 25 May 2006 said that he was a priest in "Frankfurter", Germany for a decade.
However, it was noted that there is no city in Germany called "Frankfurter".
It was also reported that Ayub had claimed to be ordained as 'Reverand Anthony Samy Perumal Viagulam' previously, but Reverand Pierre has also dismissed this matter as untrue, as per his letter above.
There was also more trouble for the organising party, as there was a controversy whereby Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) denied being one of the co-organiser for the event
IPaQ, the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (Maiwp), Jheains, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), the Sabah Islamic Religious Council (Muis), the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia’s (Jakim) Sabah branch were listed as co-organisers for the “Mahrajan Ilmu Al-Quran Sabah 2016” convention in the promotional poster.
However, UMS has issued a statement yesterday stating that the organisers had used the university’s logo without permission, and demanded those involved to take responsibility.
According to Malay Mail Online, Jheains said that IPaQ was the main organiser responsible for bringing in the speakers.
Meanwhile, three Malaysian Anglican clergymen have urged the authorities to launch a thorough investigation against Ayub to ensure that such forms of fraud will not happen in the future
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 suggests 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.
themalaymailonline.com