Australian Court Finds Islamic Preacher Breached Racial Discrimination Law

Wissam Haddad, an Islamic preacher based in Sydney, was found by the Federal Court of Australia to have breached the Racial Discrimination Act through a series of anti-Semitic sermons delivered in November 2023. The court ruled that Haddad's speeches contained disparaging remarks and age-old racist tropes against Jewish people, likely to offend, insult, humiliate, and intimidate the Jewish community in Australia. Haddad's defense, which framed his lectures as religious and historical commentary on Jewish faith and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was rejected by Justice Angus Stewart. The preacher was ordered to remove the speeches from social media and to refrain from making similar comments in the future, and he must cover the legal costs of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), which initiated the legal action after authorities declined to prosecute. ECAJ co-CEO Peter Wertheim emphasized that the case was about protecting the Jewish community from hate speech rather than restricting freedom of expression or religious faith. This landmark ruling highlights the balance between religious expression and laws against racial discrimination in Australia.