It is disappointing that, in the course of sentencing two individuals, Justice Fagan
considered it appropriate to give broader commentary to Muslims, including about
the Quran.

The Judge raised concerns about an “unqualified acceptance” of certain passages of the Quran by Muslims and called upon them to “explicitly repudiate” such verses. It is apparent on the face of the judgement that there has been no consideration given to the mainstream and orthodox Muslim position with regards to these verses.

Muslims categorically reject extremist interpretations of the Quran and the misuse of
Islam by extremists. Indeed, extremists have caused immense suffering to Muslim
communities around the world.

The Judge’s analysis, if applied to any religious text, can similarly form the basis of criticism of other faith communities. Such an analysis and approach is ill-informed and unjustified.

Of most concern is that the comments and opinions expressed by the Judge appear to exceed his duty of passing judgement on the specific case at hand rather than judging an entire faith community and its religious text.