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28th October 2003
Christian seminar on Islam one-sided, tribunal told
By Barney Zwartz
Religious Affairs Writer
October 28, 2003
source: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/10/27/1067233096724.html

A Christian seminar on Islam presented a selective and one-sided view that was not a "true, fair or accurate representation", a tribunal was told yesterday.

Father Patrick McInerny said a selective treatment of the New Testament could suggest that Jesus Christ was "prone to violence, ever-ready to take up the sword and intent on fomenting division".

Father McInerny, a Catholic priest who lived in Pakistan for nearly 20 years and has a degree in Islamic studies from Rome, was the first expert witness in the test case of Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act.

The Islamic Council of Victoria has complained that a seminar held last year by Catch the Fire Ministries, Danny Nalliah and Daniel Scot incited hatred against Muslims.

Father McInerny told the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal that there were atrocities against Christians in Pakistan, but most people got on well. "I don't deny there have been horrific incidents, but they are not representative of the Muslims of Pakistan, not representative of Muslims in Australia, and not representative of the trajectory of 1400 years of history," he said.

Under cross-examination, he said he had not read all of the Koran or Hadith (Islamic sacred texts), and that the Pentecostal and evangelical Christianity of Catch the Fire was not a version he shared.

He denied mocking Christians who try to convert Muslims, but agreed that he tried to "render" Islam positively.

Asked by barrister David Perkins if this was what the media called spin, he replied: "If you wish."

Judge Michael Higgins said Mr Perkins was suggesting that Father McInerny's role in interfaith dialogue produced pro-Muslim sentiments and "a degree of animus" towards Catch the Fire.

"If I were satisfied this was correct, this would undermine his status as an expert witness and exhibit bias," he said.

The case continues today.