Ministry At Risk in Muslim Vilification Appeal

The following news item comes from our friends at Mission Network News.  On August 25th MNN had this news item in their daily newsletter they send out.  If you love missions news I highly recommend checking out Mission Network News, and listening to their daily podcast.

Australia (MNN)--We begin today in Australia where a Vilification case is back in court. Last June, Pastors Daniel Scot and Danny Nalliah were found guilty, under Victoria's religious hatred law, of vilifying Muslims at a 2002 conference. This week, Voice of the Martyrs' Todd Nettleton says, "Two pastors who were convicted of vilifying Muslims in the seminar that they led have appealed their case. The case has now been heard in the court of appeals in Australia. No decision has been announced at this time. They are waiting; it could be up to two or three months before the decision is announced." The law shifts the burden of proof to the defendant for non-offensiveness. When asked about what this means for free speech and freedom of religion, Nettleton said, "If it's illegal to tell the truth about Islam because somebody might be offended, then that obviously has a 'chilling effect' on ministry; it has a 'chilling effect' on evangelism, particularly among Muslims. It's really a scary precedent."