Pauline Hanson and the Question Australia Must Face: Who Gets to Define “Good” and What Does It Mean?
Senator Pauline Hanson’s comment has set off a firestorm in Australia. She asked, “Are there any good Muslims?”
The backlash was immediate. But before reacting, it is worth asking a simpler question:
How is “good” defined?
In Islam, “good” is defined by obedience to sharia. Classical Islamic law is explicit. The good is what the Lawgiver [Allah and his messenger Mohammed] permits or commands. The bad is what He forbids. Reason does not determine moral value. Sacred law does.
Classical Islamic law goes further. All human acts fall into five legal categories: obligatory, recommended, permissible, offensive, or unlawful (Reliance c2.0). Moral value is assigned by sharia. Nothing sits outside that legal order.
From a recognized manual of sharia:
“The good… is what the Lawgiver [Allah and his messenger Mohammed] has indicated is good by permitting it or asking that it be done… The good is not what reason considers good… The measure of good and bad is the Sacred Law, not reason.” (Reliance of the Traveller a1.4)
The Koran repeatedly reinforces this framework:
Koran 2:216 “Fighting is prescribed for you… it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you… but Allah knows and you know not.”
Koran 45:11 “This [Qur’an] is guidance. And those who have disbelieved in the verses of their Lord will have a painful punishment of foul nature.”
Koran 45:18 “Then We put you (O Muhammad) on a clear way of command [sharia]. So follow it, and do not follow the desires of those who do not know.”
Good, in this system, is defined from above. Human reasoning yields to Islamic revelation. Sharia also instructs ordinary believers to defer to qualified Islamic jurists:
Koran 16:43 “Ask those who recall if you know not.”
Classical Islamic law states that it is obligatory for the ordinary person to follow the qualified scholar (Reliance b.7).
Islam and sharia are indivisible. This is not a loose spiritual code offering private guidance. It is a structured legal system. It governs marriage, inheritance, testimony, criminal penalties, political authority, loyalty, and public conduct.
In Western constitutional systems, “good” is defined differently. Good is tied to equality before the law, freedom of conscience, and individual liberty. Law is derived through reasoned debate and democratic consent, not divine command.
When Pauline Hanson asked whether there are “good Muslims,” she used a word that carries two incompatible meanings.
Under Islam, a good Muslim is one who follows sharia.
Under Australian constitutional principles, a good citizen is one who upholds equality before the law and respects the rights of others regardless of religion or sex.
Where aspects of sharia mandate legal hierarchy, unequal treatment, or religious supremacy, conflict arises. Sharia obliges believers to “command the right and forbid the wrong,” including interference beyond personal conduct:
Reliance of the Traveller (o24.2–o24.3) details this obligation.
‘He who amongst you sees something abominable [not sharia compliant] should modify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue, and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should (abhor it) from his heart, and that is the least of faith.’ (Muslim 49a)
There are fifty seven Islamic states where sharia shapes law to varying degrees. Many reject the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in favour of the Cairo Declaration, which subjects rights to sharia.
The issue is not private belief. It is whether a comprehensive religious legal system can operate within a secular constitutional democracy without eroding its foundations, when even the definition of what is ‘good’ is diametrically opposed to the welfare of a nation.
That is a policy question. It deserves a serious answer.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: To understand the doctrine, the global strategy, and what must be done to stop it — read A Civilizational Reckoning: Understanding the Threat, Reclaiming the Future. https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/106887600X