The Queensland Government is funding an Islamic website www.islamweek.com.au that attacks Christians and Christianity.
Amongst the resources promoted on the site is an article which attacks the central Christian belief in the Holy Trinity, labeling Christians as "followers of a false god' and guilty of "a great unforgivable sin'.
"The misconception that Jesus - allegedly being the "Only Begotten Son" - has the same divine essence as the Supreme Creator is, indeed, a great unforgivable sin," the article says. "Every Christian must know that Jesus was a man… With this alone, the Christians are either ignorant of their own scriptures or they are merely blindÙ€followers of a false god."
The site also promotes the aggressively anti-Christian books of Sheikh Ahmed Deedat whose titles include Combat kit against Bible thumpers.
The Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth, who has spoken widely across Australia on the issue of Church and State, says the Beattie Government has "inadvertently' crossed the line.
"It is completely inappropriate for the State to fund one religious group to attack the deeply held beliefs of another," he says.
"However when funding inter-faith initiatives these things can inadvertently happen. I just hope the Queensland Government didn't realise what they were doing."
Sam Green, a staffworker from the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES) who has been active in dialogue with Muslim students, is far more critical.
He believes the whole Muslim Awareness initiative is flawed and an inappropriate use of tax-payer dollars.
"My main complaint is that the whole site is actively proselytizing for Islam," he says.
"Would the government give Christians $700,000 to evangelise? Why does the Government support such active proselytizing?"
The Beattie Government has committed $60,000 over two years to run Islamic Awareness Week from August 18 until August 27 which is being promoted via the controversial website.
Islam Awareness Week includes mosque open days, lectures and awareness stalls hosted by Queensland universities and presentations and displays at various libraries.
Queensland Multicultural Affairs Minister Chris Cummins says Islamic Awareness Week is an initiative under the $700,000 Muslim Community Engagement Strategy announced last year.
“Islamic Awareness Week is an opportunity to promote interaction and understanding between Muslim and non-Muslim Queenslanders throughout the state,” he says.
Sydneyanglicans.net specifically asked the Minister’s office about the criticisms of the promotional website and is still awaiting an official response.
