Category: Daniel Scot

Debate on the merits of hate-speech laws

All Fired Up About Faith The case of two preachers found guilty of vilifying Islam stirs debate on the merits of hate-speech laws Daniel Scot and Danny Nalliah, both Pentecostalist Christians, are accustomed to taking risks for their faith. A decade ago, Nalliah, a Sri Lankan-born Australian, narrowly escaped being caught with 400 smuggled Bibles in Saudi Arabia, where preaching Christianity is a crime. Scot, who grew up Christian in Muslim Pakistan, fled to Australia in 1987 after he was charged with blaspheming against the Prophet Muhammad, an offense punishable by death. In March 2002, the Catch the Fire Ministries,

Pastors reject apology order over Koran comments

A Christian pastor found guilty of vilifying muslims says he is prepared to go to jail in protest over Victoria’s racial tolerance laws. Two pastors involved with the Catch the Fire Ministries were last year found to have vilified Muslims at a Christian conference, and on a website, by suggesting the Koran promotes violence and terrorism. In Context Christian Pastors taken to court to silence criticism of Islam Hate case judge assures Americans no one is going to prison When legal absurdity is watched world-wide Christian Pastors Found Guilty of Vilifying Islam Verdict in ‘Vilifying Islam’ Case Exposes Christian Fault

Pastor: no apology to Muslims

One of two Christian pastors found guilty of vilifying Muslims has vowed to go to prison rather than apologise. The Islamic Council of Victoria want the offending pastors to acknowledge a finding that their comments incited hatred and severe ridicule of Muslims. In Context Christian Pastors taken to court to silence criticism of Islam Hate case judge assures Americans no one is going to prison When legal absurdity is watched world-wide Christian Pastors Found Guilty of Vilifying Islam Verdict in ‘Vilifying Islam’ Case Exposes Christian Fault Lines Hatred law needs overhaul: churches Research resources on Islam But the pastors’ ministry,

Verdict in ‘Vilifying Islam’ Case Exposes Christian Fault Lines

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) – An Australian state tribunal’s finding that two pastors had vilified Muslims looks set to widen the divide in the country’s Christian community between liberal mainstream church representatives who lauded the ruling and evangelicals who argued that it constituted a dangerous threat to free speech and freedom to evangelize. Critics of the tribunal decision in the state of Victoria called for the repeal of the controversial legislation that made it possible. In the first case of its kind under Victoria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act — introduced three years ago by the state’s Labor Party government

Christian Pastors Found Guilty of Vilifying Islam

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) – Christians in Australia are pondering the implications of an explosive ruling handed down Friday by a legal tribunal, which found that two Christian pastors had vilified Islam. Immediate reactions ranged from an evangelical commentator’s view that the decision spelled “the beginning of the end of freedom of speech in Australia” to that of a liberal church denomination which said it sent a welcome message to “Christian extremist groups.” One of the pastors at the center of the dispute said he was saddened by the outcome, but he predicted it would galvanize Christians and other Australians

When legal absurdity is watched world-wide

A religious vilification case has embarrassed the plaintiffs and shown the stupidity of the law, says PIERS AKERMAN. In a case being closely followed around the world, the Victorian Government has effectively placed Islam on trial under its controversial Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001. It didn’t mean to, of course. The legislation was intended to shield religions — particularly Islam — from scrutiny and was championed by the Islamic Council of Victoria and other Muslim organisations before being passed by the Bracks Government in mid-2001. Indeed, the current matter was the first brought under the flawed legislation when it

Hate case judge assures Americans no one is going to prison

A Victorian judge has reassured Americans that the Christian respondents in the state’s first religious hate case do not face jail. Judge Michael Higgins told a tribunal yesterday he had received a call from the Department of Foreign Affairs over concerns about the case raised in a “considerable” number of emails from Americans. Both sides in the case, the first brought under Victoria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act, say it has attracted interest in Muslim countries as well as in the West. The Islamic Council of Victoria has alleged that Catch the Fire Ministries, Pastor Danny Nalliah and speaker Daniel