Skip to:
Main Content
Site Navigation
Site Footer
Site Search
Site Map
Network Navigation (other sites)
news.com.au
Fox Sports
CareerOne
Carsguide
RealEstate
News Network
The Australian
News
Opinion
National Affairs
Business
Aus IT
Higher Ed
Media
Sport
Arts
Magazines
Careers
SEARCH
List
Video
Breaking News
The Nation
The World
Features
Galleries
Executive Lifestyle
Health & Science
Investigations
Travel
Weather
Login
Sign Up
The Nation
Muslim leader blames women for sex attacks
by: Richard Kerbaj
From: The Australian
October 26, 2006 12:00AM
Increase Text Size
Decrease Text Size
Print
THE nation's most senior Muslim cleric has blamed immodestly dressed women who don't wear Islamic headdress for being preyed on by men and likened them to abandoned "meat" that attracts voracious animals.
In a Ramadan sermon that has outraged Muslim women leaders, Sydney-based Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali also alluded to the infamous Sydney gang rapes, suggesting the attackers were not entirely to blame.
While not specifically referring to the rapes, brutal attacks on four women for which a group of young Lebanese men received long jail sentences, Sheik Hilali said there were women who "sway suggestively" and wore make-up and immodest dress ... "and then you get a judge without mercy (rahma) and gives you 65 years".
"But the problem, but the problem all began with who?" he asked.
The leader of the 2000 rapes in Sydney's southwest, Bilal Skaf, a Muslim, was initially sentenced to 55 years' jail, but later had the sentence reduced on appeal.
In the religious address on adultery to about 500 worshippers in Sydney last month, Sheik Hilali 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."
The sheik then said: "If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred."
He said 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)."
Muslim community leaders were yesterday outraged and offended by Sheik Hilali's remarks, insisting the cleric was no longer worthy of his title as Australia's mufti.
Young Muslim adviser Iktimal Hage-Ali - who does not wear a hijab - said the Islamic headdress was not a "tool" worn to prevent rape and sexual harassment. "It's a symbol that readily identifies you as being Muslim, but just because you don't wear the headscarf doesn't mean that you're considered fresh meat for sale," the former member of John Howard's Muslim advisory board told The Australian. "The onus should not be on the female to not attract attention, it should be on males to learn how to control themselves."
Australia's most prominent female Muslim leader, Aziza Abdel-Halim, said the hijab did not "detract or add to a person's moral standards", while Islamic Council of Victoria spokesman Waleed Ali said it was "ignorant and naive" for anyone to believe that a hijab could stop sexual assault.
"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," he said.
Ms Hage-Ali said she was "disgusted and offended" by Shiek Hilali's comments. "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."
Yesterday, the mufti defended the sermon about "adultery and theft", a recorded copy of which has been obtained and translated by The Australian.
Sheik Hilali said he only meant to refer to prostitutes as "meat" and not any scantily dressed woman with no hijab, despite him not mentioning the word prostitute during the 17-minute talk.
He told The Australian the message he intended to convey was: "If a woman who shows herself off, she is to blame ... but a man should be able to control himself". He said if 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."
Sheik Hilali also insisted his references to the Sydney gang rapes were to illustrate that Skaf was guilty and worthy of receiving such a harsh sentence.
Waleed Ali said Sheik Hilali was "normalising immoral sexual behaviour" by comparing women to meat and men to animals and entirely blaming women for being victims.
"It's basically saying that the immoral response of men to women who are not fully covered is as natural and as inevitable as the response of an animal tempted by food," he said.
"But (unlike animals) men are people who have moral responsibilities and the capability in engaging in moral action."
Revelation of the mufti's comments comes after he criticised Mr Howard last month in The Australian for saying a minority of migrant men mistreated their women. Sheik Hilali said such a minority was found in all faiths. "Those who don't respect their women are not true Muslims."
"There's a small percentage found among all religions, but we don't recognise ours as Muslims."
Aziza Abdel-Halim said Sheik Hilali's remarks during Ramadan were inaccurate and upsetting to the Muslim community.
"They are below and beyond any comment (and) do not deserve any consideration."
'Kevin Rudd has been delivered a very public slap in the face.'
'Julia Gillard would be happy with this Newspoll, the last one for the year.'
Paul Kelly
'The ALP national conference has been a project in surrealism and reality denial'
Dennis Shanahan
'The benefits for Labor and Gillard are largely drawing from negatives for the Coalition and Abbott'
Troy Bramston
'THOSE hoping for significant renewal of the Labor Party will be bitterly disappointed'
Mark Day
'Paul McMullan's evidence was gobsmacking'
Prev
2 of 6
Next
Sections
News
Columnists
National Affairs
Business
Australian IT
Higher Education
Media
Sport
Arts
Mobile
RSS Feeds
Newsletters
Send Stories
Subscribe
Resources
Sitemap
Photo sales
News archive
Reader Offers
RSS Feeds
E-newspaper edition
Advertising
Advertise with Us
Policies
Privacy
Terms
Company Information
About Us
Contact Us
Job Opportunities
Code of conduct
The Australian
Search for:
Try it now
Terms
Privacy
Accessibility
Mobile site
Help
Feedback
theaustralian
navigate to a section
0Saved stories
hide tools
login
signup
Bangalore
