FIVE of the nation's most powerful Islamic clerics, including Sheik Taj al-Din al-Hilali, have been banned from talking to the media by Muslim leaders for delivering "anti-Australian" messages.The Lebanese Muslim Association has gagged the imams from Lakemba Mosque in Sydney's southwest from media commentary - especially to Arabic news outlets - because of the "immeasurable damage" they have caused the community.
A letter was yesterday sent by the Lebanese Muslim Association to its five imams, including Sheik Yahya Safi - the official Australian representative to the Mufti of Lebanon - Sheik Shady Suleiman, and Sheik Hilali. The letter, obtained by The Australian, demands the imams
LMA president Tom Zreika yesterday told The Australian the letter was issued to end the "perceived un-Australian viewpoints given by some clerics". "One of the big issues is the double-speak by the various imams," Mr Zreika said.
He added that the messages some clerics delivered in Arabic contradicted comments given in English while talking to the mainstream media.
| Is that a fact? Golly, that's never happened elsewhere in the Islamic world. |
"(While) most of our clerics are selected on the basis that they have Australian values and Australian characteristics ... some of them haven't (lived) up to that."
The LMA's hardline approach towards silencing its clerics comes after the furore sparked by Sheik Hilali last year, following revelations in The Australian last month that the mufti was banned from delivering sermons at Lakemba Mosque. Sheik Hilali caused national and international uproar last October when The Australian uncovered a sermon in which he compared women to "uncovered meat" and joked about Sydney's infamous gang rapes.
The cleric, who has been the nominal head of Australia's Muslim community for years, further compounded the controversy by subsequently appearing on Egyptian television to dismiss the furore over his insults to women and make disparaging remarks about Australia's convict beginnings. Sheik Shadi yesterday told The Australian that he supported the LMA's decision, saying it was in the best interests of the Muslim and wider community.