(Sydney Morning Herald) Muslim groups, religious leaders and experts have voiced alarm at the federal government’s push to ban a flag associated with Islamic State, saying it risks criminalising legitimate displays of Islamic imagery and infringing Muslims’ right to practise their religion.
The government has introduced legislation that would ban the terrorist group’s flag as well as the display of Nazi symbols such as the swastika.
The Australian National Imams Council said the push to ban the IS flag was analogous to banning the display of the Christian cross because it had been misappropriated by the Ku Klux Klan white supremacist group.
“The bill places Australian Muslims in jeopardy of having their religious practices policed and even criminalised,” the imams said in a submission to the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security, which is scrutinising the bill.
