Last week,
the Australian, ran an article entitled "
Muslim leader blames women for sex attacks". "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."
This touches a lot of nerves in Australia- where much of society has the sneaking suspicion that conservative Islam is fundamentally misogynistic and merely hides this aspect from broader Australian society- which considers itself quite egalitarian.
The SermonThe following are extracts from
Sheik Taj Din al-Hilaly's controversial sermon given last month, as independently
translated by an SBS Arabic expert.
"When it comes to adultery, it's 90 percent the woman's responsibility. Why? Because a woman owns the weapon of seduction. It's she who takes off her clothes, shortens them, flirts, puts on make-up and powder and takes to the streets, God protect us, dallying. It's she who shortens, raises and lowers. Then, it's a look, a smile, a conversation, a greeting, a talk, a date, a meeting, a crime, then Long Bay jail. Then you get a judge, who has no mercy, and he gives you 65 years."
"But when it comes to this disaster, who started it? In his literature, writer al-Rafee says, if I came across a rape crime, I would discipline the man and order that the woman be jailed for life. Why would you do this, Rafee? He said because if she had not left the meat uncovered, the cat wouldn't have snatched it."
"If you take uncovered meat and put it on the street, on the pavement, in a garden, in a park, or in the backyard, without a cover and the cats eat it, then whose fault will it be, the cats, or the uncovered meat's? The uncovered meat is the disaster. If the meat was covered the cats wouldn't roam around it. If the meat is inside the fridge, they won't get it."
"Satan sees women as half his soldiers. You're my messenger in necessity, Satan tells women you're my weapon to bring down any stubborn man. There are men that I fail with. But you're the best of my weapons."
"The woman was behind Satan playing a role when she disobeyed God and went out all dolled up and unveiled and made of herself palatable food that rakes and perverts would race for. She was the reason behind this sin taking place."
The ContextHis comments have caused outrage in media and society such that
a group of senior Muslim leaders from the Lakemba Mosque met to review a transcript of the sermon and if action should be taken against Hilaly. They accepted his claim that his comments were taken out of context.
The context they refer to was the
Sydney gang rapes in 2000- in which a group of up to fourteen Lebanese Australian men kidnapped and repeatedly raped "white Australian" women on at least five occasions. The crimes, led by the then 19 year old
Bilal Skaf, were described as "racially motivated hate crimes" saw blanket media coverage, the passing of new laws, and over 240 years in jail time handed out to nine men.
In Hilaly's speech he referred to woman dressing temptingly, "Then, it's a look, a smile, a conversation, a greeting, a talk, a date, a meeting, a crime, then Long Bay jail. Then you get a judge, who has no mercy, and he gives you 65 years." The implication to the Skaf case is clear and precipitated massive outburst from the broader community.
Hilaly and other senior Muslims were quick to reposition his speech, stating that he was referring to adultery, not rape. I believe even in context of adultery the broader Australian community rejects Hilaly's notions, feeling they are fundamentally mysoginistic and against the liberal individualistic society we have built.
The Egyptian-born Hilaly has a
history of controvery, as a holocaust denier, supporter of suicide bombers and has
decried Muslim leaders who criticised Muslims who blindly follow the faith and failed to question the veracity of the Koran. It seems he is a religious psychotic- evidencing a dangerous detachment from the external reality and sense of self-importance.
"After midday prayers today, the sheik was besieged by a group of reporters who asked him whether he would bow to demands and quit. The Islamic clergyman smiled and shook his head, saying in English: "After we clean the world of the White House first."
There are fundamentalists in more local churches and mosques in Australia- however the problem in this case is much amplified given that Sheikh Hilaly is self styled as
Grand Mufti of Australia and New Zealand. (Supported by the largely Arab Muslim community in New South Wales- but not recognised by the Turkish and Albanian Imams of Victoria). A Grand Mufti is a social/political postion- as is the Archbishop of Sydney- and his words and viewpoints have broader ramifications for both Australian Muslims and the the image of Islam in broader Australian society.
Our Prime Minister, John Howard, addressed this point with less than subtle direction-
"What I am saying to the Islamic community is this: If they do not resolve this matter, it could do lasting damage to the perceptions of that community within the broader Australian community. "If it is not resolved, then unfortunately people will run around saying, 'Well, the reason they didn't get rid of him is because secretly some of them support his views'."
Sydney Morning HeraldHis statements are predictive- or perhaps even self-fulfilling- and evidence a conflict that is deeply embedded in Australian society. How does a liberal society deal liberally with minority communities who reject liberalism?
Labels: Longer Posts
