Author: dr-daud-batchelor

The Attorney-General George Brandis while proposing to water-down the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) 1975 in 2014, famously said, “People do have the right to be bigots” – what for many seemed a shocking statement.  A “bigot” is intolerant towards those holding different opinions, often regards members of certain racial, ethnic or religious groups with hatred and intolerance; while that person’s own beliefs are often unreasonable or excessively narrow-minded.  The Qur’an however teaches, “Let not hatred of a people swerve you from justice (5:8) “even against yourselves” (4:135). Surely, in a sane society, people need to be tolerant and understand...

The most challenged community in Australia today is the Aboriginal community, the First Australians, who are working hard to regain their footing.  Aboriginal society suffered greatly from British colonisation and the imposition of western culture. Dispossession of their land, diseases and violent conflict resulted in numerous Aboriginal deaths. European contact undermined traditional Aboriginal authority, laws, culture and religion. Colonialists introduced high levels of alcohol and tobacco consumption, gambling, and later, drugs and pornography. These had devastating impacts. Conservatively estimated social costs to Australia of drug abuse in 2004/05 were $55 billion, of which alcohol accounted for $15 billion, tobacco...