SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, March 27, 2001: The Rev. Robert Frisken of Christian Community Schools Ltd. here does not want the stories about Harry Potter, the trainee wizard, banned, but suggests the books should carry warning stickers before they are placed in school libraries. “The ordinary person is typified as being bad because they have no magic powers, and heroes are the people who are using the occult. Good finds itself in the occult, which is an inversion of morality for many Christian people.” Frisken will, this month, send letters to parents in each of the 90 independent member schools across Australia asking them to consider the issues raised in the stories and discuss them with their children. The books have become a controversial addition to classrooms in America — figures show they were the most challenged books of 1999. Efforts to restrict their use, or remove them from classrooms and school libraries were reported in 19 states.
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