Is there a law against this?


Sheik's sexist comments create storm

October 26, 2006 - 8:39AM

A senior Muslim cleric is facing a storm of criticism and has been urged to leave the country after saying immodestly dressed women provoke sexual attacks.

Australian Mufti Sheik Taj Aldin Alhilali has enraged Muslim women and the wider community by comparing women to meat left out in the street that only has itself to blame if eaten by animals.

Islamic community leaders quickly moved to distance themselves from the comments, reported in The Australian newspaper but which were made during a Ramadan sermon to 500 worshippers in Sydney last month.

"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 sheik told the congregation.

"The uncovered meat is the problem.

"If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab (Islamic headdress), no problem would have occurred."

Sheik Alhilali also spoke of women who "sway suggestively" and wear immodest dress, appearing to suggest rapists are not entirely to blame.

President of the Islamic Friendship Council of Australia, Keysar Trad, said the sheik's comments had been misrepresented, although he admitted his analogies could have been better.
"From what I understand, he was talking about the context of encouraging people to abstinence before getting married," Mr Trad said.
"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."

However a former member of the federal government's Muslim Advisory board, Iktimal Hage-Ali, said she had listened to a recording of Sheik Alhilali's speech and believed he should be stripped of his position.
"I was just flabbergasted," she told ABC radio.

The Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria said Sheik Alhilali's views were at odds with most mainstream Australian Muslims.
"These unacceptable comments ... do not reflect the values of ethnic communities or of many mainstream Australian Muslims," said council chairman Phong Nguyen said.

Waleed Aly, from the Islamic Council of Victoria, predicted a backlash against Muslims, saying: "I am expecting a deluge of hate mail. I am expecting people to get abused in the street and get abused at work."

At least his comparing the rapist to animals was accurate!

No there's no law against it. I note that Goward is alleging he has incited rape. Bullshit. He's done no such thing, he's merely being a bigot, which is not a crime - yet.

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"There were no D-Day Heroes in 1973" - Cold Chisel Khe Sanh

No law against it but then again, there's no law against stupidity. Rapists are totally sick scum, many not bothering to look at the women they're raping beyond the fact that they're female. Afterall, how many 85 year old women do you see walking around in immodest dress, swaying suggestively? Yet, elderly women get raped.
While there may be no law against what the sheik said, I hope his own people will reprimand him.

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

No religion or nationality has a monopoly on bigotry. I will continue to treat the middle-Eastern men that I know in exactly the same way they have treated me up until now - with courtesy, respect and friendliness!!

If his comments were taken out of context, and it is stated they were, then shame on the media and vested interests for fomenting discord and sectarianism!

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Lucky is he (sic) who has been able to understand the causes of things
Virgil

Is that Pru Goward, diuretic? She lost all credibility with me when she did her crawling to Little Johnnie! She had the audacity to say that there were enough child-care centres for working women! Perhaps in her wage-bracket, definitely not in that of the majority of working women.

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Lucky is he (sic) who has been able to understand the causes of things
Virgil

They have.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...0/s1774632.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...0/s1774182.htm

to be perfectly honest though, its not that long since we heard the same, or similar comments from judges in this country.

of course, that also caused a furore.

Its high time men who are out of touch with the reality of modern life were no longer in positions of authority, or where they can influence others.

This is a condemnation?

I certainly applaud those who condemned his comments in the following article but not all of the premier folks in the Islamic community did so...

Pru Goward recently ran for pre selection for the liberal party. I am sorry - but though she's been around the traps for donkey's years I never heard her speaking out when a South Australian judge made similar comments.

I realise in her current role she really should be making a statement, however it seems that this sort of thing is designed to promote the divisiveness that her mate Johnny likes to bring up every time there's something on the political table that the public might find hard to swallow.

I think there is actually.

"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 sheik told the congregation.

"The uncovered meat is the problem.

"If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab (Islamic headdress), no problem would have occurred."

I would like to hear the correct context. Regardless the premise is that the women encourage men to rape them by dressing in a way that he, a religious person, considers unacceptable. He also states that if women wore Muslim dress and stayed in their rooms in their homes nothing would happen. I won’t condemn Islam any more than I would condemn any religion but I will condemn this philosophy.

I remember when Pru Goward said she would send her husband to prostitutes if it suited. Even her equally well-known daughter, Kate Fisher, baulked at that one!

Unfortunately, there are very few men who aren't always ready to blame 'the woman'. That doesn't mean that this man should be allowed to get away with what he said. I couldn't care less what his religion or nationality, he deserves all he gets. But at the same time, let us not vilify an entire religion or entire nations because of one old fooll!

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Lucky is he (sic) who has been able to understand the causes of things
Virgil

the comments were completely out of line, and considering his position - were also extremely irresponsible.

if he is that out of touch with Australian society then he has no business being in a position where he can influence people in this socety.

same as judges who think women 'ask for it', or that it may be acceptable for a man to beat his wife in some circumstances.

people who espouse these values are not suitable to be in positions of authority or leadershap in a society like ours.

however, I don't think they are any more part of Islam than they are part of old fashioned patriarchal values which are still, fortunately less and less frequently, expressed by more 'mainstream' people from time to time.

Until gang rapes by lebanese youths in Sydney became a topic in this country, shock jock callers were far more interested in blaming the victim when it came to the issue of rape.

an update on the issue:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...0/s1774761.htm

I should probably write everything I'm thinking and avoid only writing half.

What I meant was that there is no law prohibiting comments like the Sheik allegedly made. If there were then half the front bars in Australian pubs would be empty because people would be on trial. His comments were distasteful but not criminal. They also come from his cultural background and not solely from his religious views.

Goward (yes Engima as has been indicated, it's Prue) is well out of order with suggesting deportation for comments like this. What would she do with those little bastards in Werribee - have them hanged?

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"There were no D-Day Heroes in 1973" - Cold Chisel Khe Sanh

Nobody is villifying an entire religion. So let us not villify an entire gender.

The provocation to rape argument is one of the the standard arguments used by those who advocate modest dressing.

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One day, I will sneak across the border into Canada and be an illegal alien. It will be fun.

Far be it for me to villify an entire gender. On the other hand, Eve and her descendents have always suffered from what would be called a 'bad press' in this day and age! It has been a standard excuse used by men throughout the ages that 'she was asking for it!'. Therefore, putting it in the context of a man saying it has nothing to do with religion but more to do with men's (and sometimes women's) attitudes and the fact that they range across a wider spectrum than religion alone.

The matter of villifying an entire religion I will leave to Little Johnnie, he's doing an excellent job of it.

You are right, diuretic Goward hasn't said a word about the tragedy that has occurred in Werribee. Why isn't she calling for a meeting with the parents to discuss how this got so far out of hand and why it happened. I have never had any confidence in the woman and her present behaviour hasn't made me change my mind. Middle-class women such as Goward destroyed the women's movement in Australia. or at least managed to change its direction enough to alienate working-class women.

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Lucky is he (sic) who has been able to understand the causes of things
Virgil