Bishop Paul Tan fears Hasan Ali is upping the ante

Catholic Bishop Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing says Selangor state exco member in  charge of Islamic affairs, Hasan Ali, is taking his “campaign of McCarthyism against the bogey of Christian proselytising of Muslims to heights that make a mockery of those lunch meetings between the prime minister and church leaders”.

The bishop, who is head of the Catholic Church in the Malacca-Johor diocese, said: “I must say the irony here is exquisite. Just as Christian leaders emerge from what was supposedly a convivial meeting with the prime minister, you have this religious charlatan publicly declaiming on a threat that so far, at least, exists only in the fevered imagination of a few.”

Speaking to Malaysiakini in response to the latest reports of Hasan’s claims of Christian proselytising of Muslims, Bishop Paul Tan added:

“As usual, Hasan adduces no proof, supplies no substantiation for what he says - it’s just allegations, aspersions and base canards against assorted Christian groups who he says are out to proselytise Muslims.”

The Jesuit-trained prelate, who is also president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, said the overall effect of these tirades by Hasan would portray Christians in the eyes of Muslims as a sinister and conspiratorial presence in this country.

“On the one hand, you have the prime minister, accompanied by a sizeable ministerial cohort, meeting up with Christian leaders to allay their concerns; on the other hand, you have a religious charlatan going round spewing stuff that erodes the very basis of good relations between Muslims and Christians, ” remarked Bishop Paul Tan.

Self-willed deception

He said Hasan was unconstrained in taking “his campaign of McCarthyism to heights that make a mockery of those lunch meetings between the prime minister and church leaders.”

Joseph McCarthy was the United States senator who launched an infamous witch-hunt against communists he claimed were in high positions in the US government in the early 1950s, a campaign of innuendo and insinuation that ruined and blighted individual careers and reputations on a vast scale.

Since then the word “McCarthyism” has entered the English language as a pejorative term for hysterical witch-hunts.

Referring to Hasan, Bishop Paul Tan queried, “Seriously, if there is this one person who is allowed the run of the place with his campaign of innuendo and insinuation against Christians, what good can come of discussions at ministerial level to assuage Muslim-Christian tensions?”

“The way he carries on makes talks at the highest level on the Muslim-Christian relationship a version of what Marxists call ‘false consciousness’ - self-willed deception as to what is really going on in society,” commented the bishop.