If James Michael Waugh had been a Muslim who converted to Christianity and then threatened to behead Muslims (which would, of course, never actually happen), would he be a free man today? What do you think?
Magistrate Bernadette Boss said “expressed concern about the distortion wrought by extreme religious beliefs, describing the Bible and Koran as consistent in their message of peace.”
What do you think the chances are that Bernadette Boss has actually read the Qur’an? How likely do you think it is that she is aware of the existence of these verses?
“And kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from where they drove you out; persecution is worse than slaughter. But fight them not by the Holy Mosque until they should fight you there; then, if they fight you, kill them — such is the recompense of unbelievers, but if they give over, surely Allah is all-forgiving, all-compassionate. Fight them until there is no persecution and the religion is Allah’s; then if they give over, there shall be no enmity save for evildoers.” (Qur’an 2:191-193)
“We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve for what they have associated with Allah of which He had not sent down authority. And their refuge will be the Fire, and wretched is the residence of the wrongdoers.” (Qur’an 3:151)
“They wish that you should disbelieve as they disbelieve, and then you would be equal; therefore do not take friends from among them, until they emigrate in the way of Allah; then, if they turn their backs, seize them and kill them wherever you find them; do not take for yourselves any one of them as friend or helper.” (Qur’an 4:89)
“This is the recompense of those who fight against Allah and His Messenger, and hasten about the earth to do corruption there: they shall be killed, or crucified, or their hands and feet shall be struck off on opposite sides; or they shall be exiled from the land. That is a degradation for them in this world; and in the world to come awaits them a mighty chastisement.” (Qur’an 5:33)
“When your Lord was revealing to the angels, ‘I am with you; so confirm the believers. I shall cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers; so strike the necks, and strike every finger of them!” (Qur’an 8:12)
“Fight them, till there is no persecution and religion is all for Allah; then if they give over, surely Allah sees the things they do.” (Qur’an 8:39)
“Make ready for them whatever force and strings of horses you can, to strike terror into the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others besides them that you know not; Allah knows them. And whatever you spend in the way of Allah shall be repaid you in full; you will not be wronged.” (Qur’an 8:60)
“Then, when the sacred months are over, kill the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them, and confine them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they repent, and perform the prayer, and pay the alms, then let them go their way; Allah is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.” (Qur’an 9:5)
“Fight those who believe not in Allah and the Last Day and do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and do not practice the religion of truth, even if they are of the People of the Book — until they pay the jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued.” (Qur’an 9:29)
“Allah has bought from the believers their selves and their possessions against the gift of Paradise; they fight in the way of Allah; they kill, and are killed; that is a promise binding upon Allah in the Torah, and the Gospel, and the Koran; and who fulfils his covenant truer than Allah? So rejoice in the bargain you have made with Him; that is the mighty triumph.” (Qur’an 9:111)
“O believers, fight the unbelievers who are near to you; and let them find in you a harshness; and know that Allah is with the godfearing.” (Qur’an 9:123)
“When you meet the unbelievers, strike their necks, then, when you have made wide slaughter among them, tie fast the bonds; then set them free, either by grace or ransom, till the war lays down its loads. So it shall be; and if Allah had willed, He would have avenged Himself upon them; but that He may try some of you by means of others. And those who are slain in the way of Allah, He will not send their works astray.” (Qur’an 47:4)
“Former Canberra journalist James Waugh who threatened to behead Christians walks free,” by Elizabeth Byrne, ABC.net.au, May 5, 2020 (thanks to Ken):
A man who threatened to behead Christians on his front lawn in retaliation for the Christchurch massacre has walked free from court with a suspended sentence.
James Waugh, 29, has already spent five months in jail, and was sentenced today to two-and-a-half years in jail on a single charge of threatening to act with intent to cause public alarm.
But the sentence was wholly suspended, meaning Waugh will not spend any more time behind bars.
Waugh was arrested after sending violent messages to members of a Canberra church over several months.
One of those targeted was a woman who had rejected him.
In January last year, he sent her a message demanding her address, saying, “You are going to die.”
“Good you are a f***ing c***.
“I am going to burn your house down.”
He later told another person, “I am going to cut her organs out … she should be gutted like a f***ing dog.”
In other messages, Waugh threatened one man’s children and linked his threats to the Christchurch attack on two mosques.
“Do not approach me in the street if you see me because I will attack you,” he wrote.
“The only good Trinitarian is a dead one.
“I have issued threats, along with my name and address, to every coward dog church in Canberra.
“I’ve bought a scimitar [Middle-Eastern curved sword] and intend to cut their heads off in my front yard as a reprisal.”
The court heard Waugh identified as a white, nationalist Muslim who wanted to be recognised as a martyr.
But Magistrate Bernadette Boss said it was not a terrorist crime, rather a hate-based offence.
“It certainly has at its heart religious extremism, intolerance and hatred,” she said.
A key part of today’s sentencing was a psychiatric report on Waugh compiled soon after the crimes, which suggested he was at high risk of acting on his religious beliefs, which Magistrate Boss described as “exceptionally disturbing”.
But his lawyer Helen Hayunga told the court he had improved greatly after receiving treatment while in custody and later in the community after he was freed on bail.
“He began to accept that his beliefs were bizarre and not based in reality,” she said….
A post on the Canberra House of Prayer Facebook page that reads: I’m going to kill every single one of you dog polytheist c****.
Magistrate Boss agreed, addressing Waugh directly in court….
She also expressed concern about the distortion wrought by extreme religious beliefs, describing the Bible and Koran as consistent in their message of peace.
“I can’t understand your … hatred of your fellow human beings,” she said.
Waugh had been a journalist, including at the Queanbeyan Age and Canberra Chronicle in mid to late 2018.
The court also noted he had gained access to the federal press gallery at Parliament House at a time his extreme views were developing….