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October 25, 2006

Australia: Muslim "Mufti" Says Women Encourage Rape

65-year old Sheikh Taj Din al-Hilaly, the Egyptian-born imam of the Lakemba Mosque in Sydney, is no stranger to controversy. In 1988 he notoriously addressed Muslim students in Sydney University with a speech about Jews in which he said, amongst other things: "The Jews try to control the world through sex, then sexual perversion, then the promotion of espionage, traitory, and economic hoarding."

As well as his anti-semitism, Hilaly has some strange views on terrorism. He is reputed to have been caught on camera, weeks prior to the 9/11 attacks, extolling Islamic suicide bombers in the Middle East, calling them "heroes', stated Australian Liberal Party MP, Christopher Pyne. The imam has, since 1989, been paid an annual salary of 40,000 Australian dollars ($29,668 US) from the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) to be Australia's "mufti".

The latest scandal which the "Mufti" has created involves his suggestions that "immodestly dressed" women who who do not wear Islamic headdresses are to be blamed for being preyed upon by men. The Australian reports that the "Mufti" has compared such women to abandoned "meat" attracting voracious animals.

The Mufti made the comments at a Ramadan speech which has not pleased Muslim women leaders. The speech was made last month to 500 worshippers in Sydney as a sermon. Hilaly said: "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."

"If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred," he said, following the statement with the observation that women were "weapons" used by Satan to control men.

"It is said in the state of zina (adultery), the responsibility falls 90 per cent of the time on the woman. Why? Because she possesses the weapon of enticement (igraa)," he claimed.

Hilaly made the statement after making an indirect allusion to the 2000 gang-rapes in Sydney, carried out by Muslim young men. The ringleaders, Bilal and Mohammed Skaf were handed down lengthy prison sentences on July 28. Bilal Skaf smiled as he was sentenced. The original sentencing report shows how the Muslim rapists had deliberately set out to commit rape. There was never any evidence that their victims, some as young as 16, had even thought of provoking their brutal degradation. Only the perverse mind of a "Mufti" or a Muslim rapist could construe that the girls were "abandoned meat" to be devoured.

The Australian describes the outraged responses of Muslim women to the Mufti's speech. Iktimal Hage-Ali said his comments made her "disgusted and offended." A former member of the Muslim Reference group, prime minister John Howard's advisory group, she said: "The onus should not be on the female to not attract attention, it should be on males to learn how to control themselves."

Hage-Ali said: "I find it very offensive that a man who considers himself as a mufti, a leader of Australia's Muslims, can give comment that lacks intelligence and common sense."

Aziza Abdel-Halim said that such remarks, made at Ramadan were "below and beyond any comment (and) do not deserve any consideration."

The lawyer Waleed Ali, spokesman for the Islamic Council of Victoria, also condemned the Mufti's comments, saying that the notion that a hijab (Muslim headscarf) being an antidote to rape was "ignorant and naive", and said the Sheikh was "normalising immoral sexual behaviour".

Ali said: "Anyone who is foolish enough to believe that there is a relationship between rape or unwelcome sexual interference and the failure to wear a hijab, clearly has no understanding of the nature of sexual crime."

The sermon was made in Arabic, as are most of the Mufti's speeches, and usually he denies he has said controversial things when they are translated into English. The Australian translated a copy of the sermon, and confronted the Mufti with his words.

The Mufti tried to say that he had only meant to refer to prostitutes as "meat", even though he had never mentioned the word prostitute in seventeen minutes of talking.

Hilaly explained that is a woman is "covered and respectful" she "demands respect from a man....But when she is cheap, she throws herself at the man and cheapens herself."

He referred to the Sydney gang-rapes, he explained, to illustrate the point that Bilal Skaf was guilty and worthy of receiving his harsh sentence. On August 15 2002 Skaf was given a 55 year jail-term, but this July he was sentenced to a minimum of 11 years' jail to add to an existing sentence of 22 years' jail.

Many individuals and organisations, including the New South Wales Board of Jewish Deputies are aware that Hilaly lies, making offensive statements and then denying them. He is helped in his dishonesty by his "spokesman", Keysar Trad. Hilaly's justifications and his denial of blaming of women rape victims only add to the evidence that he is a liar, and not fit to be regarded as a spiritual leader of any faith.

UPDATE: The Sydney Morning Herald reports on the backlash to the Mufti's comments. His spokesperson and apologist, Keysar Trad, states: "From what I understand, he was talking about the context of encouraging people to abstinence before getting married. His references to exposed meat etc was a very poor example that was meant to be a reference to both men and women, he wasn't talking about Islamic dress, he wasn't talking about rape."

Others are not so convinced by Trad's interpretation. Pru Goward, the federal sex discrimination commissioner, said: "Young Muslim men who now rape women can cite this in court, can quote this man...their leader in court. It's time we stopped just saying he should apologise. It is time the Islamic community did more then say they were horrified. I think it is time he left."

Sophie Mirabella a backbencher from Victoria, said: "I have a message for Sheik Al-Hilali: This is Australia, not Iran, and violence and degradation of women is not acceptable."

Health minister Tony Abbott said: "Certainly I think if a religious leader in the Catholic Church or the Anglican Church or in Judaism was to make these sorts of statements, they would be getting a very severe rap over the knuckles, at the very least. He's wrong. He should be reprimanded and it's up to ordinary, decent Australians to make it clear that he is wrong."

Peter Costello, the Treasurer, said: "I hope that the moderate Muslim leaders will speak out today and condemn these comments."

Morris Iemma, head of the New South Wales state government, said: "He doesn't have a flash record as far as these sorts of statements and what's in the paper this morning is offensive and outrageous and ought to be condemned. To in some way suggest that you can justify sexual attacks on women on the basis of how they might walk or dress is outrageous."

The latest individual to condemn the cleric's comments is the national premier, John Howard, as reported in the Melbourne Age and the Herald Sun. Howard said of the Mufti's comments: "They are quite out of touch with contemporary values in Australia. "The idea that women are to blame for rapes is preposterous. I not only reject the comments, I condemn them unconditionally."

Members of the New South Wales Islamic Council were against the Mufti's remarks. Ali Roude, spokesman for the NSW Islamic Council, said: "While we respect the rights of any Australian citizen to freedom of speech, there is a further responsibility upon our civic leaders, be they religious, political or bureaucratic, to offer appropriate guidance to the people under their care. The comments widely reported today do no such thing."

"As a father, brother and son myself, I take offence at the portrayal of both men and women in the alleged published comments. Islam requires all people, men and women alike, to dress with modesty. This is not to reduce the risk of sexual assault and rape, but rather to show respect for the God who created us all as equals and to show respect for ourselves as people who rise above the world of mere things and animals to stand as conscious beings in the presence of that same loving God - Allah Ta'ala."

Sherene Hassan of the Islamic Council of Victoria has said the Mufti should resign. She told AAP: "Those comments are extremely offensive, and there is no basis for what he said in Islamic teachings. The ICV is issuing a statement calling for his resignation. We are calling on him to issue an apology to all Australian people, because his comments are offensive to males and females alike, and we are calling on him to retract those comments. There is no justification for rape."

The Mufti, faced with such widespread condemnation, has now decided that obfuscation and denial are inadequate responses, and has issued a statement of apology. "I unreservedly apologise to any woman who is offended by my comments. I had only intended to protect women's honour, something lost in The Australian presentation of my talk."

A spokesman for the Mufti (probably Keysar Trad) has said the backlash had affected Hilaly so badly that he was depressed and confined to bed, breathing through an oxygen mask."

Hilaly's choice of wording for his statement of apology is equally misplaced. To speak of a woman's "honour", when it is estimated that globally 5,000 women a year are killed to uphold Islamic "honour" is not a wise move.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at October 25, 2006 5:42 PM

Comments

Posted by: FreedomSeeker33 at October 26, 2006 1:52 AM

Posted by: MisIslamist at October 26, 2006 2:09 AM

Posted by: MisIslamist at October 26, 2006 2:10 AM

Posted by: Giraldus Cambrensis at October 26, 2006 6:28 AM

Posted by: Hungarian Crusader at October 26, 2006 5:59 PM

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