Evangelist Benny Hinn has cancelled his trip to Bangalore, India where
he was to participate in a prayer conference this week. The
cancellation, reportedly due to a "visa problem," comes amid protests
among Hindu groups who were concerned about Hinn converting their
countrymen to Christianity.
Kamal Panth, the Additional
Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), revealed to the press on Tuesday
that organizers of the Christian Prayer Conference had informed the
authorities that Hinn's visit had been cancelled.
"Earlier
organizers had said he will be coming; recently they have sent us a
letter with names of pastors attending, which does not mention his name —
so they have said he is not coming," Panth was quoted as saying.
Hinn
has since scrubbed any reference to the Jan. 15-19 conference from the
itinerary on his official website,
which now lists a "special anointing
service" in Dubai as his next engagement on Jan. 24.
Hindu groups
in the Indian State of Karnataka, of which Bangalore is the capital,
had been gathering in protests since last week to demand that lawmakers
keep Hinn from attending the Christian Prayer Conference being hosted by
the local Bethel Assembly of God Church. The faith-healer was targeted
by Hindu activists for allegedly "coming to Karnataka with a hidden
agenda of converting Hindus to Christianity," referencing Hinn's 2005
visit to the region that saw a mass turnout.
During his 2005
visit for the "Festival of Blessings, "10,000 law enforcement officials
were deployed at the Jakkur airfield where the crusade was held.
Meanwhile, locals rioted in the streets, setting buses on fire and
prompting businesses to close their doors. Hindus comprise 80.5 percent
of India's population of 1.2 billion, with Muslims being about 13.4
percent and Christians 2.3 percent of the population.
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