http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20651210-28737,00.html
Muddle headed Mufti
Sheik Hilali is a man of controversy and contradictions, writes Natalie
O'Brien
_____
October 27, 2006
HE is revered by the Muslim community almost everywhere he goes in Sydney's
southwestern suburbs, the nation's Arab heartland.
Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali, the 65-year-old spiritual leader of Muslims in
Australia, is so popular he is never allowed to pay for a meal when he eats
in Muslim restaurants. When others offer to pay for him, they are also
politely refused. "He is the Mufti and we are happy to provide for him,"
says the owner of La Roche, a Lebanese restaurant in Lakemba.
The sheik - often seen tearing around the streets in his white Ford Falcon
and being mobbed by followers, including women - has an enormous power base
of supporters among the Muslim communities in Sydney.
He is renowned for his kindness, charity and support for women's movements.
He helped establish the Muslim Women's Association and he runs classes for
Muslim women every Thursday at Auburn.
Hilali offered to help Australian model Michelle Leslie, who was jailed in
Bali for drug possession, after she converted to Islam. He also offered her
support after she decided to return to the catwalk, modelling swimwear.
He has won praise for encouraging inter-faith dialogue and for keeping a lid
on tensions in the Muslim community.
But the man known as the nation's most senior Muslim cleric has created
enormous controversy in the 20 years since he was appointed the leader of
Australia's Muslims, a position that carries the title of Mufti. His critics
are as strident in their condemnation as his supporters are devoted.
He was pilloried this week for a sermon delivered at the Lakemba mosque
during Ramadan, which compared women who don't wear hijab-style dress to
meat left out for cats. "If one puts uncovered meat out in the street, or on
the footpath, or in the garden, or in the park, or in the backyard, without
a cover and then the cats come and eat it, is it the fault of the cat or the
uncovered meat? The uncovered meat is the problem ... If she was in her
room, in her house, wearing her hijab, being chaste, the disasters wouldn't
have happened. The woman possesses the weapon of seduction and temptation,"
he said.
Following a nationwide outcry, he issued a statement saying that any form of
harassment of women is unacceptable. "I fully respect women. Any degrading
conduct towards or disrespect to women is degrading conduct and disrespect
for my mother, my sister, my wife and my daughter."
His 25-year-old daughter Asma al-Hilali defended him, saying "he has
probably spent more time working for women's rights than for his own family.
And he has upheld the values of all women, no matter what they wear." But it
was too late. There were widespread calls for him to be stripped of his
title and citizenship, and deported.
Al-HILALI'S HISTORY
* 1941: Born in Egypt, the son of a scholar. His mother dies when he's
a child and he's reared by an aunt. He studies Arabic and Islam at the
Al-Azhar University in Cairo.
* 1960s: Becomes a member of the political body known as the Muslim
Brotherhood, which claims to be non-violent but breakaway members have
formed terrorist groups including al-Qa'ida.
* 1975: Marries Egyptian woman Souhair. They have three daughters -
Shayma, Asma and Fatima - and one son, Mohammed.
* 1982: Travels to Australia, overstays his tourist visa and settles
in Sydney.
* 1988: Gives an anti-Semitic lecture to a group of Muslim students at
the University of Sydney, where he's quoted as saying: "The Jews try to
control the world through sex, then sexual perversion, then the promotion of
espionage, treason and economic hoarding."
* 1989: Becomes known as the Mufti of Australia.
* 1990: Is granted permanent residence and eventually citizenship.
* 1999: Is arrested in Egypt after allegedly paying $192,000 for
Pharaonic antiquities from a smuggling ring. Wins on appeal.
* 2004: Causes a public outcry over a sermon at a mosque in Sidon,
Lebanon, where he alleges the September 11 bombings are God's work against
oppressors. He says he is misquoted and anyone rejoicing in September 11 or
supporting it knows nothing about Islam. During a tour of Saudi Arabia,
Lebanon and Egypt, allegedly tells Arabic-language newspapers that Afghan
Muslims discovered Australia before James Cook and many Aboriginal rituals
resemble Islamic ones. He allegedly praises Hezbollah and warns John Howard
will "pay the price" for banning the group.
* 2006: Splits from the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils that
appointed him Mufti.
Hilali's leadership of Australia's Muslims has always been disputed by
sections of the Islamic community.
He was appointed to the honorary position of Mufti with the support of the
country's peak Islamic body, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils,
in 1989. But there is no formal hierarchical structure for the Muslim faith
in Australia, although there have lately been moves to set up a board that
registers Muslim leaders.
And there have always been some Muslim leaders who say he has no right to
use the title of Mufti or to say he is Australia's most senior Muslim
cleric.
Some Islamic leaders in Victoria do not recognise his claims to national
leadership, and much of this can be sheeted home to the wide ethnic
differences between Muslims across the country.
Hilali is Egyptian-born and most of his followers in Sydney are Lebanese.
Yet in Victoria, many Muslims are of Turkish or Albanian background and
disagree with some elements of Islam in the Arab world.
Controversy has dogged the university-educated sheik since his days in
Egypt, where he was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. The brotherhood is
one of the most influential Islamist movements in the world. It was founded
in Egypt in 1928, and Egypt is still considered the centre of the movement.
It promotes an Islamic state through non-violent means. But breakaway
members of the group have gone on to establish terrorist groups, including
al-Qa'ida.
Hilali arrived in Australia in 1982 and overstayed his tourist visa. He came
to the attention of the authorities in 1988 when he gave an anti-Semitic
lecture to a group of Muslim students at the Universisity of Sydney. It was
titled The Disposition of Jews in the Light of the Koran, and he was quoted
as saying: "Judaism controls the world by secret movements (and) destructive
doctrines and groups such as communism, libertinism, Freemasonry, Baha'ism,
the Rotary clubs, the nationalistic and racist doctrines. The Jews try to
control the world through sex, then sexual perversion, then the promotion of
espionage, treason, and economic hoarding."
Following this speech, federal immigration minister Chris Hurford attempted
to have him deported for inciting hatred and being against "Australian
values". He survived the push and was granted permanent residency in 1990,
and eventually citizenship.
Efforts to deport him failed because of the large support he had within the
Islamic community in Sydney and from Labor politicians including, according
to reports, Paul Keating when he was treasurer in the Hawke government.
Hilali, who now holds joint Australian and Egyptian citizenship, has since
been regularly accused by Australian Jewish organisations of anti-Semitism,
an accusation he denies.
Hilali was born in Egypt into what he says is an environment of knowledge
and scholarship. "My father, my grandfather (and generations of forefathers)
were scholars who were inheriting the teachings," he said in a radio
interview. "My mother died when I was a child and the one who raised me was
my aunt, who actually recited the whole Koran by heart. And she used to
teach me. I learned to recite, to memorise the whole Koran, when I was 10
years old. She also taught me a lot of poetry, which I still remember."
After getting married in 1975, he and his wife Souhair travelled
extensively, and their four children were born in Egypt, Lebanon and
Australia. They settled in Sydney and led a quiet life for almost a decade
before Hilali was arrested in 1999 on trip to Egypt after allegedly buying
pharaonic antiquities from a smuggling ring for $192,000.
He was charged with smuggling antiquities. Egyptian prosecutors alleged
Hilali had conspired with Egyptian priest Nassid Elias Michael and his son
Bassem Michael to buy the artefacts. He was sentenced to one year's jail but
the case was overturned on appeal.
Then, in 2003, he was stopped by police in Sydney and charged for driving an
unregistered and uninsured vehicle. He was charged with assaulting and
hindering police, which lead to reprisal attacks and public condemnation of
the police action. Although charges of assaulting and hindering police and
resisting arrest were later dropped, he was fined $400.
In 2004 he created another furore with a speech he gave in a mosque in
Lebanon. It was claimed he praised the September 11 attacks on the US as
"God's work against the oppressors" and supported Arab martyrs and a holy
war against Israel.
Hilali said the translation was out of context and that anyone who rejoiced
in or supported "the 9/11 event knows nothing about the Islamic teachings".
He denies he supports terrorism and has put out numerous statements
condemning acts of terror.
Earlier this year Hilali split from AFIC, the group that supported him as
the Mufti, saying he no longer wanted its "money or sympathy". Hilali warned
the council to stop feuding. "I would like it to be known that for what is
left of my life, I have taken the decision to take my stipend from God and
will not accept a salary from any organisation, whether Islamic or
otherwise," he said.
Hilali's split from AFIC came after the embattled group had to apologise for
saying his $40,000-a-year salary would be stopped because the council's
accounts were frozen. They had suggested he apply for the dole.
Hilali warned the leaders of AFIC - which had been ethnically divided since
its April elections, when a group of Pakistanis took control from Fijian
Indians - that they should not squander the community's money on court
brawls.
"There is no place in our society for these ethnic groupings that only
produce grudges and personal score-settling," he said.
His split with AFIC did not affect his standing in the community and he
continued to hold the position of Mufti.
A month ago he was dumped from John Howard's Muslim Community Reference
Group after denying the Holocaust and calling it a "Zionist lie". He also
referred to Israel as a "cancer".
Yesterday, Hilali was busy apologising for any offence caused by his remarks
about immodestly dressed women and saying he had been misunderstood.
He said in a public statement that "women in our Australian society have the
freedom and right to dress as they choose; the duty of man is to avert his
glance or walk away".
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
--------------------------
Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL
PROTECTED]
--------------------------
Brooks Isoldi, editor
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.intellnet.org
Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has
not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of
The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT
YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of
intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods,
techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other
intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes
only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material
as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use
this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,'
you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
