Antichrist Cancels Dominican Speech

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — A Miami-based religious leader who calls himself the “Antichrist” had to cancel a conference Sunday after a university withdrew permission to use its campus and a hotel turned him down.

Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, who has been barred from entering several Central American nations, had planned to preach Monday at the capital’s Autonomous University, but Dominican evangelical groups had asked the government to prohibit Miranda from speaking, and vice chancellor Roberto Reyna said the university avoids activities that could generate conflict.

The Intercontinental Hotel also turned Miranda down.

The Puerto Rico-born Miranda, who has “666″ tattooed on his forearm, preaches that sin and the devil do not exist. He founded the Growing in Grace church in 1986 and today claims to have 2 million followers in some 35 nations — most in Miami, where he lives, and Colombia. The group controls 287 radio shows and a 24-hour Spanish-language television network.

In recent months Miranda has been banned by Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, where officials labeled him a “terrorist.”

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