Posted on 10/27/2006 6:33:52 PM PDT by mdittmar
AUSTRALIA'S top Muslim cleric has been barred from preaching for three months after describing women who do not dress modestly as ``uncovered meat'', but the government decried the punishment as being too lenient.
The comments by Sheikh Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly, the mufti of Australia's biggest mosque in Sydney, has outraged Muslims and the wider community, prompting calls for the Egyptian-born cleric to be sacked and deported.
Prime Minister John Howard said the suspension order by the Australian Lebanese Muslim Association, which owns Hilaly's Lakemba Mosque, was not enough.
``I believe that unless this matter is satisfactorily resolved by the Islamic community, there is a real worry that some lasting damage will be done,'' Howard told Australian radio. ``We do not want the Islamic community isolated. We do not want the Islamic community to be an object of criticism and derision. It is an exercise of self-discipline for them (Muslim leaders) to deal with these sorts of issues.''
Howard said Hilaly, who courted controversy two years ago by glorifying martyrdom and calling the September 11 attacks the work of God, was now an Australian citizen and could not be deported.
Hilaly has apologised for his comments, which he said had been misinterpreted and taken out of context. He attended prayers at the Lakemba Mosque in Sydney's west yesterday, but did not give the sermon.
In a Ramadan sermon last month, Hilaly said sexual assaults might not happen if women wore a hijab and stayed at home.
``If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street, or in the garden or in the park, or in the backyard without a cover, and the cats come and eat it ... whose fault is it, the cats or the uncovered meat? The uncovered meat is the problem,'' Hilaly said, according to a newspaper translation.
His sermon has again strained relations between the conservative government and sections of Australia's Muslim community, which makes up 1.5per cent of the 20 million population.
Australia's Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward said Hilaly's apology and suspension were not enough, and he should be sacked.
``Colourful language is absolutely insulting to Australian women who have been the victims of sexual assault and who may be the victims of sexual assault because of this sort of attitude,'' Goward told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
But Tom Zreika, President of the Australian Lebanese Muslim Association, said the suspension was designed to give Hilaly time to consider his future and the impact of his comments.
``We felt the three months away would give him time to mull over what's been said,'' Zreika said.
I imagine the National Organization for Women will be all over this story;)
He should be DEPORTED from Australia not just disciplined!!!
The scum bag.
Maybe someone should arrange a blanket party for him?
Take them all and feed them to the sharks.
What about beefcake?
He thinks that exposed flesh on women makes men think “meat”. That is his opinion. Every time I see one of their women dressed (I guess they are women), in one of those all covering, goulash burkes, I think “cow”. I guess meat is in the eye of the beholder.
If it were a Christian preacher saying that about mooselimbe the mooselimbs would call some fatah or some other crap and have to guy killed.
Well turn about is fair, please someone make an example of this turd.
Is this something to do with the reference Mohamed made to have sex with animals to relieve lust?
Alas, it would only be another in over 2,347,648 fatwas, not to mention the 800,675 jihads available for your viewing pleasure.
And I agree, turn around is fair play … unfortunately, we in the civilized world don’t have the equivalent of either fatwa or jihad unless you consider the H bomb on Mecca as a western fatwa.
Suspended? Suspended by whom? I didn't know there was such a formal heirarchy in islam! He should be deported back to the Third World sh*thole from whence he came, where he can preach that garbage to the animals that live there.
Well alrighty then, now we're talkin
What did he do that was illegal? I've heard he has said plenty of stupid things (comparing women to meat, comparing men to animals, etc.) but saying stupid stuff is not illegal, either in the USA or in Australia.
If saying stupid things was enough to get you deported, the Ditsy Chicks would have been on the first plane to France after their "I'm ashamed GWB is from Texas" mouth-off.
His local Mosque's board. Apparently they have something similar to a church board who can make such decisions locally.
Lol, what a great story this has been.
I realize this is a religion from the dark ages, but you'd think at a least a few muslim men would have considered this an insult to what little integrity they have.
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