Australian fury at Muslim cleric's claim that women provoke assaultThe Muslim cleric who sparked outrage in Australia by comparing scantily dressed women to "uncovered meat" has been suspended but refuses to resign.
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Al Hilali has been suspended from preaching
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Last night, the board of Sydney's Lakemba Mosque Association agreed to accept Sheikh Taj el-Din Al Hilali's public apology - and his excuse that the comments about women and rape had been taken out of context - but suspended him from preaching at the mosque for up to three months.
But the imam emerged from midday prayers at the Sydney mosque today in a defiant mood, flanked by dozens of supporters.
When asked by reporters whether he would resign his post, the self-styled Mufti of Australia replied: "After we clean the world of the White House first."
His spokesman, Keysar Trad, later said al-Hilali was making a point that US President George W Bush's foreign policy and invasion of Iraq were more deserving of criticism than a sermon.
"He says he's just a frail old cleric, not the president of the United States, and the media should not be so pedantic about his words," Trad said.
During a recent Ramadan sermon the Egyptian-born cleric said that women who do not wear the hijab (Islamic scarf), wore make up and "sway suggestively" incited men to rape them.
Although most Islamic organizations in Australia have strongly condemned Sheikh Hilali a large number of his own congregation appears to be standing behind him.
Outside the mosque his anti-American rhetoric was greeted by cheers and applause from dozens of supporters.
But this mild reprimand falls well short of the action being demanded by the wider Muslim community and by Australia's political and religious leaders.
Prime minister John Howard yesterday indicated that Sheik Hilali would no longer be allowed to sit on the government's Muslim advisory committee.
