Today, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) handed down its decision on the long-running religious vilification case Islamic Council of Victoria v. Catch The Fire Ministries Inc. The case concerned a seminar, newsletter and website article promoted by Catch The Fire Ministries Inc., a Christian fundamentalist group affiliated with the Assembly of God. The case was brought by the Islamic Council of Victoria on a representative basis under the Victorian Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001. The judge found that all of these presentations breached the Act by “inciting hatred against and serious contempt for people who are Muslims” and has reserved sentencing.

I have mixed views about this case. On the one hand, freedom of speech is a cherished and fragile “right” in Australia and the Victorian legislation can have the effect of stifling religious commentary and criticism. On the other hand, inciting hatred towards those of another faith is not something that should be encouraged. Much of the history of the last two thousand years is littered with bloodshed justified by religious zealotry. We should learn from that history and promote tolerance of all religious beliefs, while remaining free to constructively criticise any particular belief system. The tricky part is to do that without deliberately or inadvertently inciting hatred.

Filed in: Censorship, Islam