Secularists in some countries have no love for Religions, religious institutes and religious people. As a philosophy, secularism seeks to interpret life based on principles derived solely from the material world, without recourse to religion. It shifts the focus from religion towards “temporal” and material concerns. [ref1] Modern democracies like Australia are generally recognized as secular. This is due to the near-complete freedom of religion (religious beliefs generally are not subject to legal or social sanctions), and the lack of authority of religious leaders over political decisions.
Australia, a modern democracy must allow religions, especially minority religions like Hinduism freedom to practice and follow their faith without coming under attack. All Australians should be concerned when a non-religious group picks on a religion and pumps out false, insulting and derogatory propaganda against Australian Hindus. Their posts published under freedom of expression cause an offence to all Hindus.
Some groups do not stop here. They try to manufacture conflict between religions where none exists. A celebration procession of an ethnic group in Sydney is falsely accused to be an attack group on a holy place. Although law enforcement authorities debunked the secularists claim, the damage to peaceful fabric of Australia was done.
Picking on an academic debate and using total falsehoods and half-truths, some have tried to show a peaceful religious group to be “extremist”. The lie was echoed in the NSW state Parliament and as is the fate of all lies, it was debunked and rejected by the Parliament. False accusation raised in the upper house of NSW were soundly denounced by NSW Police, other political parties (including ALP, Coalition and One Nation) and many independents, and government departments. An official motion was moved and resoundingly approved in the NSW Parliament condemning the MLC for making these comments and asking him to retract them and apologise.
One would think that would be the end of nefarious attempts to demean Hindus and to disturb communal harmony.
Having failed in one state, they have simply taken all their lies to another state, Victoria. This time, they have enlisted another religion and scared them to become fearful and ask for protection from vilification.
Such vilification and bigotry by Hindu phobic groups towards the Hindu community has no place in tolerant, peaceful, multicultural Australia.
Hindu Council supports Australia as a secular, multicultural, multi-faith country where people from different faiths and no faith can live and work together in peace and prosperity. We do not support incitement of hate speech or violence of any kind, from any organisation, in any country.
