The ACT Government has ordered an investigation into anti-Islamic pamphlets delivered to homes around Canberra and Queanbeyan during the holiday period.
The Canberra Times reported yesterday the appearance of material depicting Muslim men as wife and child beaters in letter boxes in Queanbeyan.
But it has since emerged that the literature was also delivered around Canberra and the anonymous group behind the attacks have also targeted other faiths, distributing pamphlets depicting Catholics burning in hell.
Yesterday, ACT Multicultural Affairs Minister Joy Burch ordered Human Rights Commissioner Helen Watchirs to investigate whether the campaign was in breach of the territory's anti-discrimination laws.
The pamphlet featured in yesterday's report was entitled Is Allah Like You? and depicted a Muslim man physically abusing a woman and child and an Islamic elder condoning the abuse on religious grounds.
The characters in the cartoon-like publication are depicted in broad Middle Eastern racial stereotypes.
Along with Is Allah Like You?, Canberra households in Kingston, Braddon, Lyneham and Civic have received another anti-Islamic pamphlet called Allah Has No Son and anti-Catholic titles The Last Rites and The Death Cookie over the Christmas period.
The distributor of the pamphlets did not identify themselves and church groups in Canberra and Queanbeyan have denied responsibility for delivering them.
Dr Watchirs said while ACT laws did not cover religious discrimination, Is Allah Like You? was likely to have breached racial discrimination laws.
''They are not harmless and they've certainly crossed the line to be highly offensive,'' she said.
The commissioner said ''name and shame'' laws may be used for the first time if those responsible for distributing the materials could be found.
She encouraged members of the Arabic Islamic community to make an individual complaint if they had been offended by the pamphlets.
An individual complaint could result in the matter being taken to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
''[The tribunal] could order that distribution be stopped, it could order a correction be published... or a public apology,'' Dr Watchirs said.
Dr Watchirs said a review of the Discrimination Act was scheduled for this year and inclusion of religious vilification laws would be considered.
Meanwhile, the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board has said it is powerless to take action against the pamphlets delivered to Queanbeyan homes unless a complaint is made.
Board president Stepan Kerkyasharian condemned the materials, but said members of the Muslim or Catholic communities would have to make a complaint before it could be tested if the distributor of the pamphlets had broken anti-discrimination laws.
Mr Kerkyasharian said that like the ACT, the offensive material must have had a racial element in order to be in breach of law, as anti-discrimination legislation did not cover religion alone.
''While we have anti-discrimination laws in all jurisdictions in Australia, the issue is not if [the material] is strictly in breach or not, there's a bigger issue here, one of a civilised approach,'' he said.
''It is highly offensive to... promote one's religion at the expense of ridiculing another's religion.''
The pamphlets were printed by California-based Chick Publications, an evangelical company listed as a hate group by US civil rights organisations, but none of those received recently in Canberra and Queanbeyan listed a local distributor.
An individual complaint could result in the matter being taken to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
''[The tribunal] could order that distribution be stopped, it could order a correction be published... or a public apology,'' Dr Watchirs said.
Dr Watchirs said a review of the Discrimination Act was scheduled for this year and inclusion of religious vilification laws would be considered.
Meanwhile, the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board has said it is powerless to take action against the pamphlets delivered to Queanbeyan homes unless a complaint is made.
Board president Stepan Kerkyasharian condemned the materials, but said members of the Muslim or Catholic communities would have to make a complaint before it could be tested if the distributor of the pamphlets had broken anti-discrimination laws.
Mr Kerkyasharian said that like the ACT, the offensive material must have had a racial element in order to be in breach of law, as anti-discrimination legislation did not cover religion alone.
''While we have anti-discrimination laws in all jurisdictions in Australia, the issue is not if [the material] is strictly in breach or not, there's a bigger issue here, one of a civilised approach,'' he said.
''It is highly offensive to... promote one's religion at the expense of ridiculing another's religion.''
The pamphlets were printed by California-based Chick Publications, an evangelical company listed as a hate group by US civil rights organisations, but none of those received recently in Canberra and Queanbeyan listed a local distributor.
