Posted on 11/01/2006 9:00:55 PM PST by Fred Nerks
SHEIK Taj Aldin al-Hilali's comments about women are just the tip of the iceberg of extreme views which could have damaged Australian society over the past decade, Treasurer Peter Costello says.
Sheik al-Hilali is under fire after suggesting in a Ramadan sermon last month skimpily dressed women invited sexual attack, comparing them to uncovered meat tempting neighbourhood cats.
Mr Costello said the sheik had a history of making inflammatory comments, dating back to the late 1980s when he made public anti-semitic remarks.
"The latest episode is just the latest in a long tradition. I congratulate the muslim community for dealing with it now, but my point is a lot of damage could have been done in the last decade," Mr Costello told Macquarie Radio.
"You go right through the decade, the sheik has been anti-semitic, he has supported jihadists, he has made statements that are absolutely offensive to women, such as the uncovered meat one. "It wasn't just that he had a bad day last September."
In his sermon, the sheik said there were women who "sway suggestively," wore make-up and no hijab (Islamic scarf), "and then you get a judge without mercy and gives you 65 years," The Australian reported.
Mr Costello earlier labelled such comments dangerous, especially in light of attacks in 2000 in which four women were separately gang-raped by a group of young Muslim men, including Bilal Skaf. Skaf received a 55-year jail sentence which was later reduced.
He said today, the sheik's comments could have encouraged rapists' attitudes to their crimes.
Mr Costello also hit out at Melbourne cleric Sheik Mohammed Omran, who was reported today as saying Australian judges treated Muslim rapists more harshly than non-Muslims. Mr Costello said Sheik Omran and Sheik al-Hilali were greatly out of step with Australian values...
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.news.com.au ...
"Where they are dual citizens and there is somewhere for them to go back to, I, for one, would be quite prepared to invite them to go back," he said.
"If they don't like Australia and Australian values and they are citizens of another country, well, they may well be happier in that other country."
Hillary's fave phrase "tip of the iceberg" this is rich coming from Majesty IC Coldness herself
AD you facing what we Yanks are facing enemy within
I think we're jumping on it before it gets out of control.
I have feeling maybe Aussie govt has file on this muslum cleric and his crazy followers
I'm pretty certain ASIO has a file on him the size of War And Peace that includes every time he sneezes!
ASIO is that Aussie version of FBI or Secret service???
OH OKAY LOL!
Islam is a cancer to civilization.
Westerners better wake up to this fact before it is too late.
Are you referring to the Mufti of New York, LOL!?
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