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June 27, 2005
Canada South
‘Your Honor, truth is not a defense in this law.’
Lately. I've been beating up on the Canadians so much (see here, here and here) that I thought it only fair to point out that they are hardly the only ones working to stifle non-politically correct speech via various "anti-hate" laws, "human rights" commissions, etc.
Thanks to Pub Philosopher, it came to my attention that in Melbourne, Australia, two Christian ministers of Pakistani descent who had been found guilty of "vilifying" Islam under the state of Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act in December, had been sentenced a few days ago. They were ordered by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to apologize for their comments about Islam and the Koran by taking out print ads in local newspapers costing almost $70,000 (Australian) and to accept being essentially forbidden to express their views on the subject, not only in the state of Victoria, but throughout the entire country.
The issue has been sufficiently blogged about to make a recap of the events unnecessary. (See Pub Philosopher, The Adventuress, Oz Conservative and A Western Heart for more. See here for mainstream and here for Christian reporting on the case. See here for a piece by Melbourne Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt.)
I did, however, want to point out several things.
First, unlike in Canada, the case and the law behind it have come in for vigorous criticism, leading some former supporters of the law within the religious community to distance themselves from it. Several Australian states have turned down similar laws and there is discussion of amending Victoria's.
Second, this case was clearly the result of collusion between the local Islamic Council and the Victoria Equal Opportunity Commission. The individuals who lodged the complaints in the first place were moles sent to the Christian meeting by the Commission at the instigation of an individual active in both the Commission and the Council. (Indeed, the law itself was heavily promoted by the Islamic Council.) Whether in Victoria or in London, the Islamic community's constant efforts to intimidate and silence critics of the religion make it increasingly hard to believe in its commitment to democratic values and that it is the religion of peace and tolerance we have all heard so much about. (Especially when one takes into account the exhaustively-documented acceptance by these same folks of "hate-literature" directed against Christians, Jews, secularists and just about anyone else.)
Third, it was especially distressing to see representatives of the Catholic Church and other denominations and religions colluding in this denial of basic religious freedom. In supporting the ruling, Father John DuPuche, for example, treated us to such excruciating vacuities in defense of tyranny as:
...one must know how to disagree, how to discuss and how to develop and grow together, and that's by, you know, working in harmony, intelligently, and doing so in a way that belongs to a civilised society.
(God save me from liberal religious defenders of "tolerance." Give me an honest advocate of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat and the Red Terror over one of those oh-so-tolerant bleeding hearts ready to call in the thought police at the drop of a hat.)
As for the two pastors, they have vowed defiance. As The Adventuress points out:
No word on whether the authorities of the great state of Victoria are planning to follow Pakistan's enlightened lead and institute the death penalty for the two pastors. Alas, prison sentences for "hate speech" against Islam seem to be just fine with them -- after all, they are only barbaric infidels.
Not to worry though. As Equal Opportunity Commission Victoria Chief Executive Officer Dr Helen Szoke assured us in hailing the VCAT's December, 2004 ruling:
Freedom of speech does not mean you can say whatever you want, whenever you want. We are still required to act in a manner that is respectful of another person’s dignity and beliefs....
[The Racial and Religious Tolerance Act is] about protecting everybody’s right to freedom of expression and enhancing democracy and this benefits everybody in the community.
Posted by John at June 27, 2005 09:49 AM
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Comments
Excellent wrap up, John. Of course the entire case beggars belief. How can anyone be accused of vilifying Islam, when the Islamics are doing such a bang-up job of it all on their own:
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com/2005/06/this-is-absolutely-appalling.html
Posted by: James Ozark at June 28, 2005 05:17 AM