In a statement on Facebook today, the Nur Fitrah group expressed appreciation to all parties that had shown interest in attending and had cooperated in preparing for the programme at the Selangor International Islamic University College.
“Due to unavoidable reasons, Nur Fitrah hereby announces that the programme ‘Knowing Christology’ on Dec 9 and 10 has been cancelled,” the statement said.
It said the group sought “a thousand apologies” and regretted any inconvenience caused.
It added that participants who had already registered would be contacted about the cancellation.
The statement also said that despite what had happened, as Muslims they needed to be “always convinced in the promise of Allah”.
Nur Fitrah had yesterday apologised over its promotional poster which described speaker Irena Handono as a former nun.
It said it had received much flak over the words “mantan rahib” (former nun) from Christians in Indonesia although Handono’s representative had confirmed that she used to be a nun.
Nur Fitrah also stated that the programme was restricted to Muslims only.
It said the targeted audience comprised Muslim students who were learning about comparative religions and Muslim preachers in Malaysia.
Handono’s claim as a former nun had also been debunked previously by the Bishops Conference of Indonesia executive secretary Father Edy Purwanto, who said she had not completed her “education”.
Purwanto had reportedly said three years ago that checks conducted by the Indonesian church revealed that Handono was only briefly with the Congregation of the Ursuline Sisters as a novice.
Organiser of Christology forum to check if speaker actually a nun