Australia: 'I'm misunderstood' excuse is wearing thin

The Australian ^ | October 26 2006 | Richard Kerbaj

[knighthawk]

FOR more than two decades, Taj Din al-Hilali has courted controversy - and has more than once fought off calls for him to be kicked out of the country. Troubles for the Egyptian-born mufti stretch back to the 1980s, soon after he arrived in Australia. Before yesterday, he had most recently sparked anger with a sermon in which he questioned the Holocaust.

The cleric was once again reaching for a credibility lifeline in July when The Weekend Australian revealed that he had called the Holocaust "a ploy made by the Zionists" and trivialised the number of Jews killed by the Nazis.

But the imam's ability to manoeuvre his way out of controversy by claiming that hateful or divisive remarks he had made were "taken out of context" by listeners - especially the media - enabled him to escape deportation on at least two occasions before he was granted permanent residency in 1990.

[knighthawk]

Edited transcript of Sheik Hilali's speech

"Those atheists, people of the book (Christians and Jews), where will they end up? In Surfers Paradise? On the Gold Coast?

"Where will they end up? In hell. And not part-time. For eternity. They are the worst in God's creation.

"Who commits the crimes of theft? The man or the woman? The man. That's why the man was mentioned before the woman when it comes to theft because his responsibility is providing.

"But when it comes to adultery, it's 90 per cent the women's responsibility. Why? Because a woman possesses the weapon of seduction. It is she who takes off her clothes, shortens them, flirts, puts on make-up and powder and takes to the streets, God protect us, dallying. It's she who shortens, raises and lowers. Then it's a look, then a smile, then a conversation, a greeting, then a conversation, then a date, then a meeting, then a crime, then Long Bay jail. (laughs).

(excerpt)

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20653032-601,00.html

[dennisw]

bttt

[knighthawk]

Ping

[edpc]

Sheik Hilali again fell back to that well-worn defence, the one he has used so consistently over the past 20 years: I have been misunderstood.

From his 2001 CD.....

[angkor]

"then a meeting, then a crime, then Long Bay jail. (laughs)."

I don't know, making jokes about the crime of rape by a "religious" leader in a "religious" facility seems somewhat .... Satanic.

[kinghorse]

fire and brimstone baby fire and brimstone. Everything about these folks screams they is us 200 years or so ago. Before the pill. Before technology rendered a lot of their (legitimate) concerns obsolete. They confuse out of marriage sex with rape. Because in the old days if you had sex out of marriage there was a real strong likelihood you would create a life. Can't blame them for being careful with that.

[3AngelaD]

I'd like to see how Egypt would deal with this POS.

[lilylangtree]

This mufti needs to deported back to his own country.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I thought the prime minister made their choice clear. Either accept western civilization or get out. I'd say their choice is overdue.