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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: 2) by HiThere on Saturday February 16 2019, @05:55PM
That one's a complicated question. There are genetic variations that are only common among the Jews...and among them only common among the Cohens (alleged descendants of Aaron). So. But there's also a large number of folk who are descendants of converts made at one time or another. And, of course, the opposite.
So it would be possible to define a jewish race, but most practicing Jews wouldn't be members. And a few who had never practices the Jewish faith, nor their known ancestors, but end up included.
Mind you, the only way to demonstrate membership in the Jewish race so defined would be to have your genotype sequenced. There's no visible distinguishing feature.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.