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Is a religious group a 'race' or isn't it? Is someone 'racist' if they publicly state their dislike of a religious group? An Australian tribunal has answered this question by ruling that Muslim is not a race, and as such, a person who vilifies them in public, an act which is currently illegal in Australia, would not have broken the law.
In 2016 Sonia Kruger 'called for an end to migration from Islamic countries' saying that she wanted people to feel safe when going out to celebrate Australia day. Sam Ekermawi, a Muslim, filed a complaint to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal claiming the comments were racial vilification.
The tribunal was unable to conclude Muslims living in Australia "are a 'race' by reason of a common ethnic or ethno-religious origin" and dismissed the application. This is an important milestone in the legal and cultural development of the ocean-bound nation which is still attempting to balance the melting pot of cultures and people who have migrated to the country from all over the world. This ruling may be a key threshold for defining what the word 'race' actually means in the legal and social and cultural context and how laws will be interpreted in the future.
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 16 2019, @03:17PM (2 children)
definition:
racism - prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.
race - a group of people sharing the same culture, history, language, etc.; an ethnic group. "we Scots were a bloodthirsty race then"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_Australia#White_Australia_policy [wikipedia.org]
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/10/australia-is-deplorably-racist-as-people-of-colour-are-reminded-when-they-speak-up [theguardian.com]
So it's not a surprise they conclude it's not racist to discriminate against Muslims. Muslims are a group of people that are identified by their religion. To discriminate against them is no different than discrimination against Jews or gays or whatever. But racists, like the people on this tribunal in Australia, they don't see that because it runs counter their racist ideologies.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 16 2019, @03:30PM
Yet they can do whatever they like to my race in my country. Great.
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 16 2019, @06:55PM