Australian Mufti Sheik Taj Aldin Alhilali has enraged Muslim women and the wider community by comparing women to meat left out in the street that only has itself to blame if eaten by animals.
Islamic community leaders quickly moved to distance themselves from the comments, reported in The Australian newspaper today but which were made during a Ramadan sermon to 500 worshippers in Sydney last month.
Sheik Alhilali also spoke of women who "sway suggestively" and wear immodest dress, appearing to suggest rapists are not entirely to blame.
Comments clarified
President of the Islamic Friendship Council of Australia, Keysar Trad, said the sheik's comments had been misrepresented, although he admitted his analogies could have been better.
"From what I understand, he was talking about the context of encouraging people to abstinence before getting married," Mr Trad said.
"His references to exposed meat etcetera was a very poor example that was meant to be a reference to both men and women, he wasn't talking about Islamic dress, he wasn't talking about rape."
Community leaders anger
However a former member of the federal government's Muslim Advisory board, Iktimal Hage-Ali, said she had listened to a recording of Sheik Alhilali's speech and believed he should be stripped of his position.
"I was just flabbergasted," she told ABC radio.
The Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria said Sheik al-Hilali's views were at odds with most mainstream Australian Muslims.
"These unacceptable comments ... do not reflect the values of ethnic communities or of many mainstream Australian Muslims," said council chairman Phong Nguyen said.
Waleed Aly, from the Islamic Council of Victoria, predicted a backlash against Muslims, saying: "I am expecting a deluge of hate mail. I am expecting people to get abused in the street and get abused at work."
Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward believes the comments are an incitement to crime.
"Young Muslim men who now rape women can cite this in court, can quote this man ... their leader in court," she told the Nine Network.
She wants him to go, but did not make clear whether she wanted to him to leave the country or step down as a leader of the Islamic community.
"It's time we stopped just saying he should apologise. It is time the Islamic community did more then say they were horrified. I think it is time he left," Ms Goward said.
Political outrage
Victorian Liberal backbencher Sophie Mirabella wants the sheik to consider moving back to the Middle East.
"I have a message for Sheik Alhilali: This is Australia, not Iran, and violence and degradation of women is not acceptable," she said.
More senior members of government were also scathing.
"Certainly I think if a religious leader in the Catholic Church or the Anglican Church or in Judaism was to make these sorts of statements, they would be getting a very severe rap over the knuckles, at the very least," Health Minister Tony Abbott told the Nine Network.
Treasurer Peter Costello urged other Muslims to pull the sheik into line.
"I hope that the moderate Muslim leaders will speak out today and condemn these comments," he told the Seven Network."