by Madeleine Collins

A Sri-Lankan born pastor known as ‘Evangelist Danny’, who was a major player in reforming US religious freedom legislation and part of the underground church in Saudi Arabia, has admitted his efforts to promote free speech have been dealt a sharp blow by accusations that he incited hatred against Muslims at a Victorian church gathering.
Mr Nalliah’s ministry, Catch the Fire, has been brought before Victoria’s Civil and Administration Tribunal, accused of vilifying Muslims at a Melbourne seminar on ‘holy jihad’ last year. Islam scholar and Pakistani Christian Daniel Scot was the speaker at the seminar. The Islamic Council of Victoria have complained on behalf of three Muslims who attended the seminar, claiming that the two men incited hatred against Muslims, calling them rapists, terrorists and liars who were trying to take over Australia.
Throughout the trial, which has captured worldwide interest, the defendants maintain that their aim was simply to educate Australian Christians about Islam. “We have not said anything wrong. What was said is the truth. We spoke within the limits of what we could [say] and that was quoting verses from the Koran,” Mr Nalliah claimed. “In a church, if you can’t speak and learn about other religions, that’s crazy. It’s a very scary situation.”
What was to be a routine three-day hearing in the Tribunal has been dogged by controversy from day one. The proceedings have reignited the debate surrounding Victoria’s controversial new Racial and Religious Tolerance Act, under which it is against the law for an individual, on the grounds of religion, to engage in activities that may knowingly incite hatred against other religions. The current trial is being seen as a test case for the Act.
Catch the Fire has unsuccessfully claimed that the Act contradicts federal laws regarding free speech.
The case took another complicated turn when it was revealed that clergy from the Catholic and Uniting Church have intervened on behalf of the complainants, citing concerns that the seminar hindered inter-faith relations. The latest controversy includes accusations from Catch the Fire barrister, David Perkins, published in The Age, that the Islamic Council is a supporter of Afghani fundamentalists. According to the Islamic Council’s human rights coordinator, Bilal Cleland, it is a misrep-resentation that strikes at the heart of the vilification.
“[The accusations were] an attempt for a continuation of the vilification, using the privilege of the court to do so,” Mr Cleland told Southern Cross. He claimed Catch the Fire is an ‘extremist group’ that is out of touch with mainstream Christianity. “This is not a court case between Islam and Christianity,” he said. “Mainstream Christian thinking is opposed to vilification and hate. The Catholic Church and the Uniting Church have both intervened in defence of the Muslim community. In the early 1990s, similar accusations were being used … to raise hatred against the Muslims of Bosnia. We know what the end result of that was. Is that what Catch the Fire wants?”
But the man at the centre of the debate says his love for Muslims is being lost in the hysteria. “We love the people, we care for them, but we should also be able to have our freedom to speak freely,” Mr Nalliah said. “Yes, we need to have unity amongst groups of people, but we cannot adopt the concept of [different] ways to God. We stand very clearly; there is one way and the way is Jesus.”
The trial resumes on December 11.