The greatest enemy of absurdity is its own voice. It is essential therefore that those with extreme and absurd views be encouraged to speak them as often as possible. Rather than seek to stifle their voice or to remove a platform for their views, one should be provided:
Another prescient example of this is Danny Nalliah, pastor of the fringe church “Catch the Fire Ministries“. Nalliah has previously been alleged to have expressed the desire for God to burn down mosques. For this and other comments Nalliah was taken to VCAT by the Islamic Council of Victoria for inciting religious hatred. The ICV action was a failure both legally and in the wider court of public opinion. It allowed Nalliah to portray himself as the victim of a secretive religion which was furiously trying to avoid scrutiny as it infiltrated the nation. Money, sympathy and support flooded into Catch the Fire Ministries and Nalliah became a celebrity in the Evangelical community. The federal treasurer Peter Costello appeared on stage with Nalliah and embraced him, as did the then deputy Prime Minister John Anderson.
The case was finally settled earlier this year, with a points victory to Nalliah. This has allowed him the confidence to discover his voice once more and to bless us with the profound insights that can come to those whom God speaks to directly.
This is the best bit:
The Lord told me to spend some personal time with Prime Minister John Howard and to prophetically prepare Federal Treasurer Peter Costello as the future Prime Minister of Australia. (I don’t know the exact timing, but I was obedient to the voice of God).
Nalliah goes to to declare his prophethood:
I know this prophetic declaration is very controversial, but at this critical crossroad in our nation’s destiny, it’s not time to tickle the ears of man, but to please the Father in Heaven, by boldly proclaiming His Authoritative Word of Righteousness, Justice, and Truth to the Church and Nation!
The mainstream readership of the News limited papers took a less charitable view of Nalliah’s intervention.
Still blissfully unaware of the wider community’s perception of him, Nalliah has met with the League of Rights, a fringe group who deny the Holocaust and peddle the authenticity of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. This is not the first time Nalliah has shared a platform with the league.
This all begs the question, why on earth would it be in our interests to shut this man up? Note that during the 5 years of the legal battle Nalliah was treated sympathetically by the mainstream press. This has changed immediately once the case was concluded.
The glare of the media spotlight has been especially unflattering to Nalliah and his views. It has been a much more effective tool against him than the legal process could ever have been.
7 comments ↓
Nail. Hammer. Head.
Before coming to Jaysus, was Danny Boy a gay icon and singer called Cameo? The likeness is amazing.
I agree,
can i ask why you guys are not running the muslim community?
I really like this website, and I think you guys should take over running the muslim groups in this country.
Not only has Danny called for the destruction of Mosques but also -
Brothels
Pubs
Casinos
Synagogues
Hindu and Buddhist Temples
Now, that just isn’t on.
Would the same principle be applied to views at the very extreme such as holocaust denial, for example?
I like the idea of having absurdity make itself apparent by simply being said, but it relies on the assumption that those who hear the absurdity will be able to recognize it as such. If the members of the ICV didn’t go to the sermon and subsequently report on it, the wider community would probably not have heard about those particular views (this is arguable, however, as his dealings with the League of Rights would presumably give him some wider exposure). So isn’t it likely (or maybe just possible) that those hearing the sermon are going to hang off the words of such a ‘prophet’ and thus not recognize the absurdity so apparent to everybody else?
What is the alternative?
Having a class of people, the judiciary or the commentariat class who ultimately decide the limits of acceptable debate?
So what if Nalliah’s absurd views remained confined to suburban obscurity where they belong? We don’t need to flush out members of the general public for holding idiotic or bigoted views.
The ICV action was monumentally stupid and an enormous waste of time, money and focus. For what end? to punish a someone who would otherwise be scratching around for 10 people to listen to his stuff.
The other motivation is that court action will somehow inoculate imbeciles from being seduced by these views. Well what does this case demonstrate? :The exact opposite.
More people have been exposed and seduced by Nalliah’s views than he could have ever imagined.
Stupid people will be influenced and manipulated very easily (that is why they are stupid). But equally whilst they maybe threatened by sudanese refugees one week, they maybe manipulated into thinking that a head of cabbage is menacing alien sentient being the next.
Stupid people cannot be inoculated from their stupidity, they can only be frequently reprogrammed.
[...] the distortions of Patricia Karvelas, Australian libertarian Muslim blog, Austrolabe, links to her article and claims: Nalliah has previously been alleged to have expressed the desire for God [...]
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