Australia’s former human rights commissioner Gillian Triggs says Sharia law should be allowed in Australia.
The former law professor likened the Islamic legal system to Catholic diktats from the Vatican.
‘There are various ways in which religious law affects the private lives of people,’ she told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday night, after sharing a stage with Iranian-born Labor senator Sam Dastyari.
‘The views of the Vatican affect the lives of Catholics in this country.’
Former human rights commissioner Gillian Triggs (right) does a book launch for Labor senator Sam Dastyari (left)
Professor Triggs also said Sharia divorce courts should be allowed in Australia, under a system where a Muslim man can leave his wife by saying ‘I divorce you’ three times.
‘If it’s a matter of private law within the Muslim community and they want to manage their affairs in that way, and they believe in those rules, that’s reasonably acceptable,’ she said.
Professor Triggs’ likening of Sharia law, which secular Muslims reject, to Catholic canon law comes a month after controversial Muslim psychologist Hanan Dover made exactly the same argument.
‘Australia’s liberal democracy prides itself being accommodating to different codes of law for different groups: halacha law for Jews, canon law for Catholics, tribal law for the Aboriginal communities, Islamic law for Muslims,’ Ms Dover said on Facebook in July.
‘These are where the double standards we have to face from politicians/media commentators and bigots.’
Like Gillian Triggs, Muslim psychologist Hanan Dover has also compared Sharia law to Catholic canon law from the Vatican
Gillian Triggs shared a stage with Labor senator Sam Dastyari to discuss his new book
On Thursday night, Professor Triggs was on stage at the University of Sydney interviewing Senator Dastyari about his book, One Halal of a Story.
Later, she told Daily Mail Australia that One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s policy of banning the burqa could be unconstitutional and would be likely to fail in the High Court.
‘It could be. It’s going to be a matter for the High Court. Wearing an external representation of your religious faith is something that we respect in Australia,’ she said.
Professor Triggs also slammed Senator Hanson for wearing a burqa into parliament last week.
‘It was obviously a stunt. It was one which demeans the Muslim people and it demeaned those women who choose to wear a burqa,’ she said.
‘It was a disgraceful performance but she’s made her point.’
Gillian Triggs described Pauline Hanson’s burqa-wearing stunt as a ‘disgraceful performance’
Iranian-born non-practising Muslim senator Sam Dastyari also hit out at Pauline Hanson
Sam Dastyari said Pauline Hanson’s burqa stunt attacked the meaning of being an Australian
Senator Dastyari, a non-practising Muslim who doesn’t believe in Allah or God, said Pauline Hanson’s burqa stunt was an attack on multiculturalism and ‘what it means to be Australian’.
The Labor powerbroker also had a go at Australians who campaigned against mosques and halal certification.
‘It’s all about the code words at the moment. It’s not acceptable to turn around and say, ‘I don’t like Muslims’,’ he said.
‘So they say, “I don’t like halal certification”. People don’t feel comfortable saying, “I don’t want a mosque in my community because I won’t want Muslims moving here”, they say, “They say the problem with the mosque is the parking”.’