Aus Muslims fight back

2006-11-02 17:28

Sydney - Australian Muslims fought back on Thursday against what they called an hysterical attack on their community over remarks by the country's top Islamic cleric on women and rape.

They received support from former prime minister Malcolm Fraser, who accused the government of deliberately whipping up anti-Muslim sentiment as tactic ahead of elections due next year.

Both Fraser and the Muslims contrasted the fierce condemnation of the cleric to the mild response to Pope Benedict's use last month of a text criticising some teachings of the Prophet Mohammed as "evil and inhuman".

A group of 34 Muslim organisations issued a statement condemning the reaction by media and politicians to the cleric's description of scantily-clad women as "uncovered meat" inviting rape.

The cleric, Sheik Taj Aldin al-Hilali, apologised for his comment after collapsing and being rushed to hospital on Monday as he came under relentless pressure to resign as Mufti of Australia.

"We believe that the public scrutiny of this matter should have ended with the sheik's apology," the statement said.

"Instead, it is clear that certain sections of the media and political establishment have used this incident as an opportunity to vilify the Australian Muslim community.

"What we have witnessed over the last week is nothing more than hysteria and sensationalism."

The statement was signed by groups including the United Muslim Women's Association and the Federation of Australian Muslim Students and Youth, but not by any of the state or national Islamic councils.

Pope comparison

It compared the continued criticism of the cleric to the subdued mainstream response to the quotation by Pope Benedict XVI in a lecture in Germany last month.

"Prime Minister John Howard said that the Pope had 'expressed his regrets and we should really move on'," the statement said.

"It is unfortunate that the prime minister's advice was not heeded in this case."

Howard, however, returned to the fray on Thursday, urging Muslims to act against the mufti, who was released from hospital on Wednesday.

"The failure of the (Islamic) community to resolve this issue is daily doing damage," Howard told Australian television.

"Unless this matter is resolved, and time is running out to resolve it, there will be left a sadly diminished view of the willingness of the Islamic community to integrate into the broader Australian community."

- AFP