Liberty Baptist Church referred to education department after Keith Piper posts YouTube videos saying Islamism is a cancer that must be destroyed

A government-approved provider of school scripture has been referred to the New South Wales Department of Education after its pastor described the Qur’an as “a virus” and said Islam was “culturally incompatible with western Christian values”.

Keith Piper, the pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in the Sydney suburb of Cherrybrook, has uploaded videos to YouTube that call for a ban on Muslim immigration, describe Islamism as “a cancer [that] we must destroy” and say the Qur’an is “a virus infecting the brains [of Muslims]”.

On Monday, a letter sent to the education minister by the anti-scripture group Fairness in Religion in Schools raised concerns that the church’s scripture teachers were promoting similar messages in government schools.



The Liberty Baptist Church has been an approved provider of scripture, known as special religious education (SRE), since 1998. All government schools must provide SRE if an approved provider is available. It must be provided for at least 30 minutes a week during school time, and the state government has little oversight over the materials taught. Parents can opt out of their children attending, but the children may not receive any formal lessons during the SRE period. Volunteers provide non-religious ethics classes as an option in some schools.

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Neither the department nor the Liberty Baptist Church would confirm which schools the church provided scripture classes to.

In a video uploaded in April last year, Piper described the Qur’an as “the enemy” and said government schools were teaching children “sodomy” instead of western values.

“Ungodly, leftist western leaders are afraid to teach the Bible, salvation and Christian values in state schools,” he said. “Instead they teach sodomy and how to become a weirdo.

“Islam and Qur’an-practising Muslims are culturally incompatible with western and Christian values ... Islamism is a cancer [and] we must destroy that cancer.”

Piper said Muslims would marry children “if given the chance” and a policy of multiculturalism would lead to “people becoming Muslim through breeding and proselytising”.



The NSW director of Fairness in Religion in Schools, Darrin Morgan, said the authorisation of Liberty Baptist Church as a provider was contrary to the department’s policies on multiculturalism and student wellbeing.

“We are concerned that the current provisions for SRE ... greatly increase this risk by enabling organisations such as Liberty Baptist Church to authorise their own curricula over which your office has no control or authority,” he said in his letter to the education minister, Rob Stokes.



Under NSW law, the department has limited control over scripture material. A 2015 departmental review of SRE described the system as “self-regulated”.

Under the Education Act, scripture curriculums need only be approved by providers themselves. Most providers teach from shared materials developed by their broader faith group.

Liberty Baptist Church told Guardian Australia its teachers taught primary students from a curriculum known as CEP, which is used by 27% of SRE providers, and half of the Christian providers.

Piper said the church’s scripture teachers taught only from these approved materials, and did not discuss Islam or homosexuality.

“The scope of these curriculums is available online and they don’t deal with the issues you are concerned with,” he said. “Liberty Baptist Church, as a Special Religious Education provider, is committed to providing a safe and happy environment in every SRE class taught by our dedicated volunteers.

“They have undertaken Working With Children screening and have received their ... clearance authorisation. They have been formally trained to teach SRE in public schools and are committed to ongoing training.”



The 2015 review found isolated examples of inappropriate material in the authorised scripture curriculum. These included negative passages about abortion and materials that described cancer as “a consequence of sin”.

The review confirmed that unauthorised material was sometimes taught, and called for more transparency around the approval of SRE providers.

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“Neither providers nor the department monitor compliance in any systematic way, and as such, non-compliant practices and behaviours can and have occurred ... the reviewers are aware of a few instances in 2015 where SRE teachers were found to be using non-authorised materials, either sourced from religious publishers or developed by the individual SRE teacher.”

No provider had lost their approval, and only one new provider who applied for approval had been rejected, the report found.

A spokesman for Stokes confirmed that the letter had been received and would be passed to the department for review.

Piper confirmed to Guardian Australia he believed the “Judeo-Christian worldview” was not sufficiently taught in schools, and he supported a ban on Muslim immigration.

“The teachings of the Qu’ran and Islamism are indeed dangerous,” he said. “I advocate against the Safe Schools program in schools, the content of which promotes the homosexual lifestyle.

“I have love for Muslim people who are victims of the ideology of Islam and I am committed to telling them the good news of Jesus Christ.”



Piper has previously said he was not racist, as he was only attacking the Qu’ran.

“I’m anti-book, not race, because a lot of Muslims become Christians and they revert back to normal people,” he said in April.

But Morgan said the approval of the Liberty Baptist Church demonstrated flaws in the NSW scripture system.

“The minister needs to stop appealing to the 19th century origins of scripture in NSW public schools and take the steps to ensure what goes on in our schools is appropriate in NSW’s 21st century multicultural society,” he said

“The minister’s ongoing approval of Liberty Baptist Church also exposes the fallacy promoted by the scripture lobby that scripture is a ‘celebration of diversity’.”

A Department of Education spokesman said the Liberty Baptist Church currently satisfied the requirements for teaching SRE in NSW government schools, as it had provided an annual assurance that it was teaching the authorised curriculum.

“The NSW Department of Education monitors the content of SRE through the annual assurance process, which all approved providers of SRE are required to complete and return to the department within a specific timeframe.



“The department has accepted a number of recommendations that will improve transparency and accountability. The changes include ensuring information about providers and their curriculums are available to inspect online, improving complaint handling procedures and ensuring age-appropriate content.

“Parent/caregivers retain the right to notify the school in writing that they do not wish their child to attend SRE or secular ethics classes.”