AUSTRALIA: AL-HILALY (or HILALI) SHOULD KEEP HIS TRUTH TELLING MOUTH SHUT

Muslim leader urges Al Hilaly to keep quiet

A senior Muslim leader is urging Sydney cleric Sheikh Taj el-Din Al Hilaly to keep quiet and not make any further comments to the media.

Muslim leaders have called for an emergency summit to take place tomorrow or Monday which could result in the sacking of Sheikh Al Hilaly.

Yesterday, Sheikh Al Hilaly said he would not quit his role until the world had been cleansed of the White House.

The comment has sparked further criticism of the sheikh, who has been strongly criticised for a sermon he gave comparing women to uncovered meat.

A spokesman for the Muslim community in Perth, Dr Ameer Ali, says the mufti should hold his tongue.

"I think in the interest of peace and harmony and cohesion it's better for the sheikh to keep away from the limelight for about two or three months and come back, let things subside and let the community think over it again and make a decision," he said.

"I think he should keep away from making any more comments and let the storm pass for a while.

"Let him recollect his thoughts and come back and reconsider whatever he wants to say.

"At the moment I think it's better for him to keep off the media."The defiant mufti of Australia has been headlines news around the world since his sermon.

Critics have described Sheikh Al Hilaly's punishment - a three-month ban from speaking at the Lakemba mosque - as inadequate.

Supporters

Keysar Trad, a supporter of Sheikh Al Hilaly, says it has been a difficult few days for his friend.
Mr Trad says he queried the sheikh about the comments regarding the White House.

"He said to me here we have the media in Australia stopping everything to pursue a frail old man who has apologised for any offence," he said.

"Yet there are some really serious issues in the world, there are serious issues involving world leaders which are being completely ignored."

The wife the former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Mamdouh Habib, says she was present when Sheik Al Hilaly gave the controversial sermon last month.

Maha Habib says there was nothing wrong with the sermon.

"I have heard the speech that he has said," she said.

"I have heard his words and I can understand and assure you the way I understood it that he wasn't talking to the Western people, he was lecturing us and telling us our duty towards being a Muslim and what is said in the Koran."

Rally condemns sheikh

Some of the strongest condemnation has come from a number of women from the Islamic community.

More than 500 women took to the streets of Sydney last night for a march protesting violence against women.

Some taking part in the Reclaim the Streets rally were carrying signs with a picture of Sheikh Al Hilaly with the words, "Wanted for multiple crimes including approval of rape".

Eman Dandan, from the Sydney University Muslim Students Association, told the rally Muslim women already have to deal with hostility on the streets.

"We must protect all women in whatever choice they may make," she said.

"I stand here today [to support] women to wear the veil and I will aid a woman who has chosen not to wear the veil."

Sara Haghdoosti, who immigrated from Iran and is studying economics at university, also condemned the sheikh.

"They [the comments] were disappointing and I find them abhorrent," she said.

"He's part of a very minute group and they don't represent Muslims."

She says she was disappointed with his punishment and so were many of her male friends in the Islamic community.

"I spoke to a few young men and what they were telling me was they were disappointed," she said.

Pertinent Links:

1) Muslim leader urges Al Hilaly to keep quiet

Previous Links covering this story:

1) al-Halili bloviations