[WATCH] Priest who celebrated Nazi apologist turns his guns on Fintech expert’s Victory Day address

The selection of Fintech expert Abdalla Kablan as one of the main speakers at last Friday's official Victory Day celebration has upset a Mosta cleric who celebrated Nazi apologist Norman Lowell.

Kablan, the CEO of the Malta Delta Summit and one of Malta’s foremost fintech experts, addressed dignitaries and drew parallels between Malta’s victory in the Great Siege and the country’s success in the technology industry.

But the analogy did not go down too well with Muscat. In a YouTube video of a speech delivered in front of the Great Seige monument in Valletta, Muscat was flanked by Lowell sympathisers and far-right supporters.

Dressed in his priestly outfit, Muscat mocked Kablan's choice, blaming his ancestors for throwing bombs at the Maltese and describing him as a representative of the "god of money" that the country has come to worship.

Kalblan, who was personally chosen by Prime Minister Joseph Musact, spoke of how the “tiny but tireless” Malta was “writing history”, having brought together the best minds and the biggest ideas.

“Important events like Victory Day formed us and made us who we are today. Many years ago, Malta had an ambitious vision of an independent country – it wished and wanted its people to have control of its own destiny, and it was determined enough to make it happen,” Kablan told those present.

“I notice the same ambition, the same strong yearning, the same sense of pride, for the country to move forward at a fast pace in the technology field, and this is what led to the impressive progress that Malta has experienced over the last two years,” Kablan said.

In a YouTube video uploaded over the weekend, Muscat lashed out at Kablan, as well as the country’s leaders for “allowing” him to address such an important celebration.

Victory Day commemorates the birth of the Virgin Mary, as well as the end of the Great Siege of Malta in 1565.

Referring to the Great Siege, Muscat said it was a celebration of all those who died defending their country.  

“Three days ago, we celebrated this,” Muscat said. “All of the country’s high-ranking officials came to the celebration all dressed up. But who gave the main speech? Dr Abdalla Kablan,” Muscat said, mockingly.

“His ancestors, centuries ago, fired cannon balls at yours. He was chosen to give a speech, and all the big heads sat here before him had nothing to say about it,” the rogue cleric continued.  

He said that “the worst” part about it, was that Kablan lectured banking and finance at the University of Malta, and was the organiser of the Delta Summit.  

According to Muscat, the reason Kablan was chosen was the fact that the modern world worshipped money rather than God. He claimed that Kablan had not understood anything about the Great Siege because “that which united the Knights and the Maltese wasn’t finance, but faith”.

Historians have in the past cast doubts about the Christianity-winning-over-Islam narrative. Aleks Farrugia, a visiting lecturer in critical theory at the University of Malta had told MaltaToday back in 2015 that the siege was more a matter of “economics over religion”.

The idea that the Great Siege was won because of the Knights of St John and their subjects alone was also described as historically inaccurate, and ignores the fact that the siege’s outcome was due to many other factors.

Hate does not represent the Malta I know – Kablan

In a Facebook post uploaded on Monday, Kablan said it was the honour of a lifetime for him to express his “love, gratitude and vision” for the country he dearly loves.

“Unfortunately, this has brought along with it some ugly and racist hate speech, fueled by lies and instigation targeting my ethnicity and background,” Kablan wrote.

“Whilst I know that such hate does not in any way represent the Malta I know and love, I’m here sharing my speech for those who are asking me about it. I’m sharing it in both English and Maltese so everyone can understand it. Given the occasion, I obviously delivered it in Maltese.”

Muscat made the headlines recently when he spoke at far-right leader Normal Lowell’s birthday gathering, decrying the fact that the Maltese had become “foreigners in their own country”.

The church had disassociated itself from Muscat’s comments, with Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna saying that “ideologies that sow hatred and discrimination on the basis of race or culture are contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church”.

The archbishop has so far taken no action against the Mosta cleric.