Evangelical Christians Found Guilty of Religious Vilification
Two pastors from an evangelical Christian group in Australia were found guilty of violating the recently established racial and religious vilification laws, for "inciting hatred" against the Muslim population during a post-9/11 seminar, Friday.
Two pastors from an evangelical Christian group in Australia were found guilty of violating the nation’s recently established racial and religious vilification laws, Friday, December 17, 2004.
According to the Associated Press, Judge Michael Higgins from the court of Victoria found Daniel Scot, a widely known evangelical Christian speaker on the Middle East, guilty of calling Muslims “liars and demons who were planning to overrun Western democracy by violence and terror.”
Higgins also found that Scot “told the congregation Muslims wanted to turn Australia into an Islamic nation, and that the Quran, the Islamic holy book, promoted violence, killing and looting,” according to AP.
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"It was done, not in the context of a serious discussion of Muslims' religious beliefs," Higgins said. "It was presented in a way which is essentially hostile, demeaning and derogatory of all Muslim people, their God, Allah, the prophet Mohammed and in general Muslim religious beliefs and practices."
Ironically, Scot, a Pakistani Christian, was the first victim of Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws in 1986, when he was charged with insulting the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. The Council of the college in Okara, where he worked, threatened to prosecute him when he refused to convert to Islam. However, because of the widespread condemnation from human rights groups around the world, Scot was never prosecuted.
After the event, Scot fled to Australia with his family for greater religious freedom and has since held numerous seminars on the Middle East around the world. To date, four Christians were murdered by the Pakistan government under the blasphemy laws.
CFM’s president Danny Nalliah, meanwhile, was charged with inciting “fear and hatred of Muslims” in an article written for his church’s newsletter.
The court will decide on the penalties early next year. Under the new Racial and Religious Vilification Law, which was established on January 2002, a person can be fined up to $6000 or sentenced to 6 months imprisonment, and an organization can be fined up to $30,000. The two pastors are the first to be charged under the new law.
The controversy surrounds a seminar sponsored by CFM during the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.
According to the CFM, the seminar was held to increase the understanding of Muslim culture – not to instill hatred or fear against Muslims.
"There was no hate speech at all,” said Pastor Nalliah, of the seminar held on March 9, 2002. “It was teaching and understanding of what we knew of what the holy book of Islamic faith says. And I believe we, in a free and democratic society, should have the freedom to speak up."
Upon hearing of the seminar, the Islamic Council of Victoria placed a complaint at the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) against the two pastors. The Islamic Council also placed a complaint against the 2001 CFM Summer News Letter and a Website article.
CFM meanwhile responded to the 52 point complaint with a 57-page rebuttal. The case was then referred for conciliation at the EOC, during which it failed. When the conciliation failed, the EOC referred the case to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which finalized the verdict today – after more than 14 months of deliberations.
Islamic Council’s president Yasser Soliman praised the ruling, calling it an important victory for the Muslim community.
"We are not their enemies, we are fellow Australians," said Soliman. "We don't want to be positioned as an enemy or painted as one. Vilification hurts - it's meant to hurt. It's a tool that is sometimes used by extremists."
However, pastors Nalliah and Scot called the decision a “blow to freedom of speech.”
"Freedom of speech is one of our fundamental values in Australia and this case is not over," Pastor Scot said. "We cannot let freedom of speech be taken away from us; religion cannot be legislated. Gagging people's mouths is the worst thing you can ever do."
The two pastors plan to appeal the case.
For more information on Catch the Fire Ministries or to view their 57-page rebuttal, visit: www.catchthefire.com.au.
