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October 27, 2005
UK: Muslims And Christians Clash over Religious Hate Bill
Today, in the Telegraph, Joshua Rosenberg argues that Britain's proposed Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, which was defeated in the House of Lords on Tuesday, would have created dire problems if retained with its original wording. The government did not object to the Lords' amendment, which would have provided safeguards which would mean a person would have to be shown to be stirring up religious hatred, and the words would have to be threatening rather than abusive or insulting. And freedom of expression would have been guaranteed.
As originally drafted, the Government's Bill would have made it an offence in England and Wales for a person to use threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour if this was likely to stir up religious hatred.Mr Rozenburg points to the example of Australia, where in Victoria almost four years ago, it became unlawful to "engage in conduct that incites hatred against, serious contempt for, or revulsion or severe ridicule of" a person, class of persons, on the grounds of their religious belief or activity. The "Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001" makes it possible for anyone committing an offence of "religious vilification", knowing he or she is likely to incite hatred and threaten harm, liable for up to six months in prison. So far, no-one has been jailed under Victoria's Act. But in December, 2004, the Catch The Fire Ministries were embroiled in a legal dispute that highlighted the inadequacies of the state law.Note that there was no need to prove that a defendant intended to stir up hatred: it was sufficient if this was merely likely. And note that there was no need to prove that the defendant used threatening words: all you needed to do to risk seven years' imprisonment was to use abusive or insulting words that were likely to stir up religious hatred.
Two Christian evangelists, Daniel Scot and Danny Niallah, became celebrities when three Muslims listened in on one of the sermons by the ministry, and took the pair to court, egged on by the Equal Opportunity Commission of Victoria, in a case brought on their behalf by the Islamic Council of Victoria. The ensuing court case involved detailed analysis of the Koran and Islamic history.
Sri Lanka-born Mr Niallah, or "Pastor Danny" ran the Ministry, and his co-worker Mr Scot had been a Pakistani math lecturer who had been charged with blasphemy (against Islam) in his native country. He had fled to Australia. In 2002, the pair were accused of breaking Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 and their trial began in October 2003. It finally closed in June of this year, when the judge decided the issue was proved, deciding that they had not had a balanced discussion of the 7th century Koran. "It was a process of taking literal translations from the Koran and making no allowance for their applicability to modern-day society", he stated, and ordered the pair to publish apologies in newspapers and their website. Pastor Scot and Pastor Danny refused.
During the court case, the national Department of Foreign affairs requested updates from the judge, so that the Australian Embassy in Washington could keep concerned US Christians informed of the situation, states Amir Butler, in an essay entitled Warning from Australia: don't legislate against hate".
The case had transformed a couple of evangelicals into suburban Joan of Arcs being burnt on the pyre of political correctness. The effects of the suit were felt across the community. Small teams of Christians, armed with notepads and tape recorders, began attending Islamic lectures, recording possible transgressions that might be used as evidence in the case. Islamic bookstores were mined for nuggets of intolerance. True to its promise, the law had brought Christians and Muslims together like never before.Mr Butler states that the legal costs of this exercise amounted to more than a million Australian dollars.
Rosenburg states that in August the two "Catch the Fire" evangelists were given leave to appeal against the court decision, and suspended the apologies.
One of the strangest battles in Australia involves the case of transexual Olivia Watts, a former policeman, naturopath and witch, or "Wiccan". When "she" decided to run for local government in Casey, the local Christian community went loco, urging a day of prayer for the city. Local councillor Rob Wilson issued a press release detailing how a "witch" in the council would concern local residents. So Ms Watts went to the Equal Opportunity Commission, and soon there was a battle in the courts. The result? The costs of the case, which was won, were astronomical, and Casey residents had to pay extra rates to pay for the trial. Victoria's attorney general was obliged to announce: "We govern for all Victorians - and that includes witches, magicians and sorcerers," he declared.
Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 was introduced by the Labour Party Governor Steve Bracks. His popularity was not high when he introduced the Bill. Now, there are fears he will not be re-elected. Tony Blair should take note.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at October 27, 2005 9:00 AM
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