Muslims want protection in religion bill

The nation’s peak Islamic body has warned Australians of faith could be targeted over expressions of belief deemed ‘malicious’.

Rateb Jneid, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, fears growing intolerance of Muslims. Picture: Matthew Poon

The nation’s peak Islamic body has warned that Australians of faith could be targeted over expressions of belief deemed “malicious” and want vilification provisions inserted into Christian Porter’s draft religious discrimination bill to combat “increased intolerance” towards Muslims.

The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, which represents more than 200 organisations, also called for exemptions for religious bodies to be extended to faith-based commercial operations, including childcare centres, cafes and community halls.

In its submission to the Attorney-General’s Department responding to the religious discrimination bill, the AFIC cautioned against Mr Porter’s qualifying threshold for employers with turnovers of more than $50m.

The Muslims Australia group, whose members include the influential Islamic Council of Victoria, also calls for the provision of a positive right to religious freedom — in line with the Catholic Church — or the introduction of a separate bill of human rights.

The submission, lodged on Tuesday by AFIC president Rateb Jneid, outlines a “growing body of evidence to support increased intolerance towards Muslims and their beliefs and practices”.

“The importance of safeguarding the rights of people to practise their religion becomes paramount in such an environment. The simplest way to address this would be to replicate vilification provisions of the Racial Discrimination Act in this proposed Religious Discrimination Act,” it said. “The issue of vilification of people of faith generally, and the protections afforded against it, is of vital importance to our social fabric. We urge government in the strongest terms to find a workable solution ... that balances the competing rights of people of faith and others.”

Responding to the Israel Folau provision, making it unreasonable for a large employer to restrict statements of belief outside work hours, the AFIC raised doubts over a caveat stating the protection would not apply if the expression of faith was “malicious” or likely to “harass, vilify or incite hatred”.

“What ‘malicious’ means, or how it is determined if such statements of belief are made with this intent, is unclear. It is relatively straightforward to picture how an individual may establish statements are based on beliefs held in good faith by reference to religious texts and doctrines but how will the intention be determined?” the submission said. “Will a statement by an orthodox Christian that homosexuals will go to hell be considered malicious? The belief may very well be held in good faith but would clearly have the potential to be offensive or upsetting to members of the gay community. Will that be enough to classify it as malicious?” The AFIC submission also seeks to clarify whether a comment directed at an individual rather than a group would make it “more malicious”.

“We submit that a greater level of consideration should be given to this notion of ‘malicious’, what it means and how it will be determined before this bill is enacted.”

The AFIC agreed “purely commercial activity” should not be exempted under the proposed bill but raised the issue of commercial operations run by religious bodies.

It argues that a childcare centre owned by a religious school in the same vicinity as the school, or a cafe or community hall affiliated with a place of worship should be provided protections. The AFIC says a reasonable person would “understand it was connected to and a part” of the religious body and shared similar branding.

Ahead of submissions closing on Tuesday, it expressed concern “significant protections” for small to medium businesses were not included in the draft bill and the majority of employers would be exposed to statements of belief outside the workplace. Small business and the public service are exempt from the relevant employer sections of the legislation. The Islamic group notes the government has made it clear its legislative package was aimed at preventing discrimination based on beliefs and activities and “not meant to create a positive right to religious freedom”.