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Explanatory Statement by the Mufti Al-Hilaly
Regarding the Recent Media Campaign
I would like to outline clearly and plainly some of
the facts and basics that formulate my faith, belief
and my understanding of the teachings of the true
religion of Islam:
1-The crime of rape against any woman is an abominable
crime; it has no justification, and the perpetrator
deserves the severest punishment and would not deserve
to belong to a religion or to humanity.
2-Women in Australia or any other western society are
free to wear what they like, and no Muslim has the
right to dictate the rulings of his religion on
others. While non-Muslim women can cover or reveal
whatever they choose of their bodies, Islamic Shari’a
made it incumbent upon Muslim men to lower their gaze.
It is prohibited for them to stare at the beauty of
strange women.
3- It is my duty as a religious leader to advise
Muslim women to adhere to and abide by the Islamic
dress code. Having said that, Muslim women are free to
comply with or reject my advice, and their reckoning
will be with Allah the Almighty.
4-By saying the “exposed meat” displayed in a
degrading way is a simile for a woman, making herself
subject to abuse by men with diseased souls whose
animalistic instincts will overcome them whereby they
would abandon their humanity, mind and religion. These
men are responsible for their crime.
5-The metaphor I used of the “exposed meat” was not
appropriate for the western mentality. It has been
quoted and misinterpreted by some groups with ill
intentions. This metaphor was used in a private lesson
given inside the mosque after the Taraweeh (optional
night) prayers on the fourth day of Ramadan. It was
meant for the Muslim attendees at the mosque and not
the general public and particularly not the general
women of our Australian society.
Apart from the above-mentioned facts, I would like to
make it known to all my brothers and sisters in and
out of Australia that:
After the Taraweeh (optional night) prayers on
27/09/2006, at the Lakemba Mosque in Sydney,
Australia, I gave a lesson to the members of the
Islamic community of Australia, the title of which
was: “Why did Allah, the Almighty, mention ‘man’
before ‘woman’ in the crime of theft? as is quoted in
the Quran: {[As for] the thief, the male and the
female, …} [Al-Ma’idah 5.38] while He mentioned
‘woman’ before ‘man’ in the crime of adultery?, as is
quoted in the Quran: {The woman and the man found
guilty of adultery or fornication, …} [An-Nur 24.2]”.
This lesson lasted approximately 15 minutes; 10
minutes of these were spent on explaining the meaning
of the first verse, and the remaining time was spent
on giving advice and guidance relating to the way a
woman dresses and the methods of seduction and the
beauty given to her by the Almighty Allah. I
emphasised that exceeding the limits in this regard is
dangerous to both men and women; and that the devil
exploits these charms of seduction to tempt both men
and women to commit adultery and fornication. In this
case, both men and women are committing a sin. So the
topic did not deal with the crime of rape.
At the end of the lesson when I was explaining the
reason why ‘woman’ was mentioned before ‘man’ in the
verse dealing with the crime of adultery, I said it
was because she possessed the charm, the methods of
seduction and all similar devices given to her by
Allah to tempt the man. For that I borrowed a metaphor
used by an author called Ar-Rifa’i. He said exposing
the meat in an illicit way would encourage the cats to
devour it. I didn’t mean by that to humiliate the
immodest women; I meant to censure the person who
would abandon his humanity and turn into a vicious
animal; and there’s a big difference between a cat’s
behaviour and that of a human’s, as the latter is
commanded and responsible for their actions.
I confess that this analogy is inappropriate and
unacceptable for the Australian society and the
western society in general.
I am deeply saddened and distressed by the acts of
some devious groups which lurk in the dark watching
me, and who cannot tolerate the moderate balanced way
which I adopt to advocate for women’s issues, national
harmony and co-existence, and to hold fast to the love
of our Australian home, to protect it from all forms
of extreme thoughts and to reject all acts of violence
and any act that breaches the rule of law.
Yes, I feel deeply saddened that such an ordinary
lesson has been used to slander and defame me after it
had been translated with the ill intention of a
dubious media that wishes to incite and they present
an unfair campaign, the aims of which are very well
known.
Once again, I turn to all the women of Australia and
the world. You are the shining lights of the world,
you are more than half of the society, and you are the
daughters, the sisters, the mothers and the aunts. How
could any sane person think of humiliating you?
You are the cherished pearls, the dearest thing in the
world. So don’t be taken as offerings at the temples
of the merchants of pleasure, or advocates of
decadence and corruption.
Each one of us is responsible for accounting for his
or her own actions before he or she is asked about
them by the almighty Allah (on the Day of Judgment).
Once again I am very sorry and apologize for what
resulted from an unintentional analogy.
With all my respect to the women of the world.
In due course I will take the necessary decision that
shall lift the pressures that have been placed on our
Australian Muslim community and that which will
benefit all Australians.
The pressure of the last couple of days has had an
obvious effect on my health and well-being. I ask the
public to give my family and I some privacy, time and
space to recover. I have also asked for indefinite
leave from my duties at Lakemba mosque.
Sincerely
Sheikh Taj El-Deen El-Hilali
Mufti Of Australia
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