FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND THE AUSTRALIAN CULTURE UNDER THREAT.

This article is from "Saltshakers" and demonstrates a real threat to Western culture from so-called "Tolerance" legislation. THe court case involves the "Two Daniels" who were convicted of promoting religious vilification becasue they ran a seminar about christian responses to Islam.

THE MUSLIM MINDSET, EXPOSED IN THE VICTORIAN COURT OF APPEAL YESTERDAY, PUTS FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND THE AUSTRALIAN CULTURE UNDER THREAT.

It Is impossible to vilify Islam without also vilifying Muslims, because the two are indistinguishable. "If one vilifies Islam, one is by necessary consequence vilifying people who hold that religious belief," Brind Woinarski, QC, told the court.

If that claim, made in the Victorian Court of Appeal yesterday by the Barrister for the Islamic Council of Victoria, was found to be true it would fundamentally change the freedom we have to speak about any religion in Victoria.

Justice Geoffrey Nettle asked Mr Woinarski: "There must be, intellectually, a distinction between the ideas and those who hold them?"

"We don't agree with that," Mr Woinarski said. "But in this case it's an irrelevant distinction, because Muslims and Islam were mishmashed up together."

Despite so-called 'exceptions', under this assumption, any comedian, actor, journalist, and certainly any religious commentator, would be severely restricted to only saying nice things about ANY religion or face possible prosecution under Victorias Religious Tolerance Act.

Any religious debate, no matter where it took place, could be found to contravene this Act simply because one person could claim THEY were vilified BY CRITICISM OF THEIR RELIGION - despite the word vilify not even appearing in the Victorian Act.

This was clearly the underlying assumption of the Islamic Council when they instigated this case against Pastors Nalliah and Scot, From the first encouragement of three individuals to go to a seminar to specifically lodge a claim that they were vilified by their critique of Islam through to today.

Such an assumption is totally incomprehensible to a Western culture where free speech is a vital component of a democracy.

The fact that the barrister for the Islamic Council could make such a claim should be a wake up call to ALL Australians as to how easily our freedom of speech could be removed by stealth.

If this appeal is not upheld, the power given to this or any other minority religion to undermine our democracy through the Bracks government's flawed legislation, would be overwhelming.

Muslims, and any other cultural or religious group, must either accept that the freedom this society values so highly means their religion could be put under the spotlight and any darkness exposed. If that is not acceptable to them then they should leave this country.

They should not try to use this poorly worded 'anti-incitement to hatred' law to curtail simply curtail criticism and discussion of their religion, especially when that religion is, today, the greatest cause of terrorism across the world.

Whilst Christians can just as equally be offended by the 'vilification' thrown on their religion, they are told to "rejoice and be glad when people insult you and persecute you FOR MY SAKE - Matt 5. This would suggest that not only can God take it on the chin, as indeed Jesus did, but that we as Christians should too. We are certainly commanded not to seek revenge but to give an account of our faith whenever called to do so and to defend out faith in the open marketplace of ideas.

The Bracks government Religious Tolerance Act actually creates a vehicle that has and will cause division. It will not create harmony, it must be repeal before it creates further tension in the Victorian community.