Say What?

Further to my posting about the politics of rape laws below, a nice little story comes in to tie up all the loose ends. The Mufti of Sydney, Sheikh Taj Aldin Al-Hilali gave a sermon over Ramadan that really went that extra mile to prove the moderate nature of Islam and the ease of its assimilation into mainstream Western culture. The Sheikh, who has lived in Australia for over 20 years and holds a position of significant authority as a religious figure, gave Australian Muslims the benefit of his considerable expertise on the subject of sexual equality and assault.

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?"

"If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street, or in the 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," he said.

"The uncovered meat is the problem. If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred."

So there you have it. The product of 20 years assimilation believes that woman who don't sit in their room alone wearing a hijab are to blame if they are raped. Fortunately, this being Australia rather than the UK, the politicians have already made their positions clear.

The idea that women are to blame for rapes is preposterous. I not only reject the comments, I condemn them unconditionally. John Howard

Make it clear to Muslims that this is not the view of Islam and that they must really take some kind of action to disassociate themselves from the comments which Sheik al Hilali has made. And take some action to try and pull him into line. Peter Costello

Two really nice touches as well to this, which kinda demonstrate the bait and switch and the 'who me?' defences.

A Muslim leader has likened the comments to Pope Benedict XVI's recent speech about Islam that provoked violent street protests. "The Pope used an inappropriate quotation and people said he should be removed from the papacy and something inappropriate has happened here also." Gee 'inappropriate'? You think? And yes it's exactly the same as quoting a 14th century Byzantine: why bother quoting a medieval monarch when you hold to a medieval belief system anyway?

President of the Islamic Friendship Council of Australia Keysar Trad today said Sheik Taj el-Din al Hilaly's comments had been misrepresented in a newspaper report. "If they go back through the history of all his commentary, they will find he has been a very strong supporter of women's rights." Yeah, we're getting that message all right.

It's like every so often they let their guard down and reveal what it is they actually believe. And then slam the barriers down again and demand not only respect for but subservience to their beliefs. I really hope this chap's not representative of mainstream Islamic thought, even in Australia, but it's like the Archbishop of Sydney just called for the death penalty for homosexuals.