Can you legislate against hatred?

A landmark report into Islamophobia has urged the government to introduce religious freedom legislation and counter anti-Muslim activity, which – like anti-Semitism – has soared since the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023. The official envoy on Islamophobia, Aftab Malik, says verbal and physical attacks on Australian Muslims are up 500 percent in the past two years. But can you legislate against hatred, if it falls short of violence? Can you also regulate the way people speak about any religion? Professor LUKE MCNAMARA of the University of New South Wales School of Law studies hate speech.

History was made this week in Westminster Cathedral in London. For the first time more than three centuries, a member of the British royal family had a Catholic funeral. Katharine, the Duchess of Kent, was married to Queen Elizabeth’s cousin. She died last week, aged 92. In 1994 , the Queen approved her decision to convert to Catholicism, making headlines at the time. King Charles attended the funeral mass, even though he’s supreme governor of the Anglican Church. What bigger story does this reveal about faith in modern Britain? Professor LINDA WOODHEAD is a sociologist at Kings’ College, London.

Turkey is home to 3.4 million refugees -- 3.2 million from Syria. Less well-known, are those fleeing Turkey. Since a failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016, around 90,000 followers of the late Muslim cleric and philosopher Fetullah Gulen have left the country. Their first stop was neighbouring Greece. While most moved onto Germany and Scandinavia, several thousand remain, mainly in Athens. Professor SOTIRIOS LIVAS specialises in Middle East affairs at Ionian University in Corfu. He was in Australia as a guest of the Affinity Foundation, which is associated with the Gulen movement.

GUESTS:

• Professor Luke McNamara University of NSW - on hate speech at the Sydney Writers Festival
• Professor Linda Woodhead, Kings College, London
• Professor Sotirios Livas, Ionian University, Corfu

This program was made on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation