The Australian pastor that was sued under the country’s equivalent to the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, has commented that the UK’s religious hatred laws would be an extremist’s charter, and far more damaging than in Australia.
Pastor Danny Nalliah, a leading Australian Christian, was previously sued successfully under a religious hatred law similar to the one being proposed in the UK. The pastor will be coming to the UK in February.At a private seminar in Australia, the President of Catch the Fire Ministries, was called to consider the impact of Islam. He quoted various parts of the Koran to show what many Muslims believe, but was found of inciting religious hatred by carrying out the act.
In the UK, evangelicals have been leading the fight against the government’s proposed Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, uniting with leading legal experts, as well as other freedom of speech supporters, comedians and even secularists. The major concern is that the proposed law could restrict any critical discussion of other faiths, and may even be a bar to preaching.
In Australia, the following was released in a news report from CBN on Pastor Danny Nalliah’s case:
Two Pastors in Australia face sentencing for speaking out about Islam. In Western nations hate speech laws are being enacted and used to protect religious minorities. But often these laws are being used to punish Christians for sharing their faith. Pastor Danny Nalliah says the seminar featured a comparison of verses from the Bible with verses from the Koran. The complainants said they especially felt vilified by a discussion concerning jihad-or holy war. Nalliah said, "Our question to the judge was, 'Your Honour, how can I vilify a Muslim when I read from his own text'?" Then, the barrister reminded the judge, 'Your Honour, truth is not a defence in this law.'
The British government has proposed the new legislation to target extremists, and to stop them preaching or inciting hate. However, many Christians, and even famous celebrities such as Rowan Atkinson have publicly denounced the Bill as being too widely drafted, effectively meaning that many innocent incidents will be caught by the law.If the Lords approve the Bill, freedom to preach the full gospel of Jesus Christ may be significantly curbed for years to come.
Lawyers' Christian Fellowship
The case of Nalliah in Australia has been used as a clear example of what may happen, as the similar law in Australia allowed him to be sued for holding a private meeting to discuss their concerns regarding religious extremism.
Christian groups CARE, the Evangelical Alliance, the Lawyer’s Christian Fellowship, the Christian Institute, Open Doors, The Barnabus Fund, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Premier Radio have all proclaimed their opposition to the legislation as it stands.
