Riot police were assembled outside Sydney's Lakemba Mosque as Sheikh Elhilali made one of his first public appearances today since being rushed to hospital on Monday with chest pains.
Sheikh Elhalili was temporarily stood down from conducting sermons after comments he made comparing immodestly-dressed women to uncovered meat sparked outrage last week.
Addressing hundreds of worshippers on Friday, the cleric offered to step down if a better replacement can be found.
He said he wanted the Australian Federal Imams' Board to seek nominations for the role of mufti and wanted the process taken care of as soon as possible.
"The issue of the mufti of Australia is an Islamic issue and therefore an internal matter. It must be for the Muslim community to deal with," he said.
"Therefore, I ask the secretary of the Australian Federal Imams' Board to open the doors for nomination for any imam wishing to nominate himself for this position.
"This must be taken care of this week, and the board must be responsible for such a position in order that it be elected in a correct, democratic way and in accordance (with) the board's constitution."
Lebanese Muslim Association president Tom Zreika said there were plenty of suitable people to take over the Australia's Muslim leadership.
"Let's have a look at who's nominated; we could probably find somebody who's much, much higher up in his scholarly ability because that's what it comes down to," Mr Zreika said.
"Look, I think he's done, if he finally decides to go, quite a bit for the community.
"You don't want a few comments here and there to really undermine all the good that he's done."
The sheikh has been under attack since the reporting of a sermon he delivered in which he compared immodestly dressed women to uncovered meat, suggesting they invited sexual assault.
His comments sparked outrage.
Sheikh: judge should decide
Earlier today, Sheikh Elhilali said in a statement that he wanted an ethical tribunal to decide whether he has blamed women for being raped or incited violence against them.
He said the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission could select a judge and two lawyers who would be assisted by interpreters in examining a recording of his controversial September sermon.
The sheikh said if found guilty, he would resign from all religious work and wear masking tape on his mouth in public for six months.
He also said he would work 600 hours in a women's welfare organisation.