Obscene anti-Muslim emails put Nile on the defensive

Abusive emails written by the son of the campaign manager of the Christian Democratic Party containing anti-Muslim and homophobic comments have embarrassed the party’s president, the Reverend Fred Nile, only two weeks before the December 5 Bradfield byelection, in which the party will field nine candidates.

Mr Nile has been forced to apologise to dozens of recipients of the emails, which also attack the Reverend Gordon Moyes, the CDP-turned-Family-First MP in the NSW upper house. Their author, Douglas Darby, the son of the former Liberal identity Michael Darby, who is the CDP’s campaign manager, has been expelled from the party.

In one email Douglas Darby attacks a Muslim activist, Mal Mac Rae, as a ”stupid moslem c—” and says ”muslim scum are too busy stacking ALP branches and raping Aussie chicks”.

In another, Douglas Darby suggests Muslims ”who habitually engage in child molestation, incest, pack rape … obey the laws of this country or f— off to Afghanistan where Australians are allowed to shoot you people”.

Yet another urges Mr Mac Rae to become a suicide bomber. ”Please do it inside either a Sunni or Shiite mosque.”

The emails are part of a bitter exchange between Mr Darby and Mr Mac Rae that appears to have begun when Mr Mac Rae wrote questioning an aspect of Mr Nile’s military service record.

On Tuesday Mr Nile wrote to recipients ”on behalf of the Christian Democratic Party to sincerely apologise for the appalling emails you have received”.

He told them that the CDP ”disassociates itself completely” from the comments, ”which we totally reject”, and apologised to Mr Mac Rae. ”No one deserves to be subjected to such language and insult,” Mr Nile wrote.

Douglas Darby did not respond to a request for comment, and Michael Darby declined to comment.

Mr Nile said Douglas Darby had begun working for the party but was soon ”upsetting people left, right and centre” and was banned from the parliamentary offices of the CDP and its headquarters a year ago.

One of the CDP’s campaign slogans for Bradfield is ”Stand your ground in defence of Christian values”.

Mr Nile and the NSW upper house Liberal MP David Clarke are advertised to speak at an Australian Christian Nation Association conference today which has the theme ”Australia’s Future and Global Jihad”.

Mr Mac Rae said yesterday he had accepted Mr Nile’s apology. ”However, the vilification of the Islamic community in the party continues behind closed doors.”

Dr Moyes said he had asked Mr Nile for an apology, ”which I haven’t received”.