Australia -- Criminalizing Religious Speech -- Pastors Scot and NalliahPastors Daniel Scot and Danny Nalliah face jail for expressing their religious viewpoint in Australia. They participated in seminars and publications about Islam from a Christian perspective. The pastors communicated to the audience basic tenets of Islam, how Christians could dialogue with Muslims, and particularly taught that while they did not agree with or believe to be true the teachings of Islam, Christians are called to love, and not hate, Muslims. They were convicted of "inciting hatred" when a court found their teachings were "unreasonable" and "unbalanced." The Australian law
In 2001 the Australian province of Victoria passed the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act (“Act”) with good intentions but disastrous effects. The Act prohibits conduct that incites hatred, serious contempt, revulsion or severe ridicule of a person or group of people based on religious belief. The law contains exceptions for artistic, religious, and academic conduct that is reasonable and done in good faith. However, instead of protecting religion and public harmony, the Act as applied has created social division and the censorship of sincerely held religious beliefs by force of law. Neighbor is now spying on neighbor with an incentive to find offense in one another's speech.
The Trial
On December 17, 2004, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal determined that Pastors Scot and Nalliah violated the Act. The pastors, as part of Catch the Fire Ministries, lead a seminar analyzing Islam from a Christian perspective, and published a newsletter and articles on the topic. Several Muslims attended the seminar, took notes, and filed a complaint against the pastors and Catch the Fire Ministries alleging violations of the Act. The Tribunal not only found the pastors in breach of the Act but also ordered the pastors publicly to apologize for their sincerely-held beliefs and promise never to repeat those beliefs.
The Becket Fund Steps In
On April 28, 2005, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, joined by a diverse coalition of organizations, sent a letter to the Attorney General of Australia urging the government to intervene before the Tribunal issued penalties that would jeopardize Australia’s laudable human rights record and commitment to international law.
Australia is obliged by international conventions to protect rights of conscience, freedom of expression, and equal protection under the law as Australia has ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and its enforcement mechanism, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The free speech, belief, and religious exercise provisions of Articles 18, 19, and 26 in the ICCPR protect the right freely to preach about and analyze religious truth-claims of competing religions.
However, the Act empowers the secular government to censor religious expression based on its own determination of the correctness of a believer’s religious views. In other words, the Victorian courts have become sermon review boards; serving as the arbiters of orthodoxy by determining the boundaries of “valid” religious belief for each faith community.
On May 24, 2005 The Attorney General responded to our letter by arguing that the Act was consistent with international law. He did not address the effects of the Act's application by the Tribunal.
The Punishment
On June 22, 2005, the Tribunal ordered the pastors to print an apology – drafted by the judge – on their website, in their newsletter, and in eight advertisements appearing in two newspapers. This forced apology directly contradicts the protection of Article 18(2) that “[n]o one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.”
In August 25, 2005, The Becket Fund replied to the Australian Attorney General and again urged his office to intervene. The Becket Fund explained that the Act as interpreted by the Tribunal violates the pastors' rights to hold and express religious beliefs, the Act has produced a litany of unfortunate results. * Rather than promote religious harmony, neighbor is now spying on neighbor as Muslims are monitoring Christian services searching for offensive language, Christians are likewise monitoring mosques in retaliation and Jews are scouring Muslim bookstores for offensive content.
* At least one criminal has used the Act as a shield from criticism for his illegal actions and sued the Salvation Army's Alpha Program for allegedly vilifying witches.
* Believers are being discouraged from engaging in any potentially controversial religious discourse because they fear fines and costly litigation.
* Finally, the State has a new authoritative role in religion. It is censoring what religious leaders can and cannot tell their followers and can punish with imprisonment those that do not comply.
On October 14 the Becket Fund received the Attorney General's unsatisfying reply. The Appeal
On August 14, Australian attorneys, with the assistance of The Becket Fund on international law arguments, submitted appeals papers to the Supreme Court of Victoria at Melbourne. Read The Becket Fund's legal opinion here. Oral arguments are scheduled for August 21 and 22.
Pastors Scot and Nalliah have said they will face jail before violating their consciences by complying with the order and renouncing their religious viewpoint. Victory The Supreme Court of Victoria in Australia upheld the appeal of Daniel Scot and Danny Nalliah, two Australian pastors who could have faced jail time for publicly comparing Christianity and Islam according to their own religious beliefs. The court ruled for the pastors, vacating the original ruling and ordered the trial to be heard again in front of a different judge. Pastors Scot and Nalliah no longer face the threat of jail, and are free to preach as they see fit. On June 22, 2007, The Islamic Council of Victoria ended its five-year legal battle against Pastors Daniel Scot and Danny Nalliah by agreeing to drop its suit. The Pastors will not have to apologize, and are free to preach as they see fit. Resources & DocumentsArticles & News Items
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