27 August 2009

The Center for Religious Freedom Invites you to a discussion on Hate Speech Laws, Islamic Blasphemy Strictures, and Freedom of Speech

December 2004, pastors Daniel Scot and Daniel Nalliah of the evangelical group Catch the Fire Ministries (CTFM) were found guilty by an Australian judge of religious vilification for criticizing Islam in the course of a religious seminar and were ordered to publicly disavow their beliefs.

Four and a half years after the lawsuit was brought, the pastors ultimately prevailed in the courts. Pastor Scot, who had grown up in Pakistan and fled the country after being accused there of the capital crime of blasphemy, remarked that religious vilification statutes like that under which he had been convicted in Australia were “blasphemy laws in disguise” and “sharia by stealth.” [International Free Press Society] Read more