Australian clerics 'in media ban'

[Eugene]

(BBC News)

Last Updated: Friday, 9 March 2007, 07:39 GMT

Australian clerics 'in media ban'

Five senior Australian Islamic clerics are reported to have been banned
from talking to the media by Muslim leaders.

The clerics have been accused of conveying "un-Australian" messages.

The ban was issued by the Lebanese Muslim Association, which is
responsible for the country's largest mosque, according to local media.

Australia's top imam, Sheikh Taj el-Din al-Hilali, is one of the five clerics
mentioned. He caused uproar by likening unveiled women to uncovered
meat.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6433265.stm

[Random_Australian]

1. Yes, he did liken women to uncovered meat. Yes, they have decided to

call a short moratorium because that was a fairly large distortion of his message.

They are considering how to get communications clear when they are surrounded by sensationalist media; we still have anti-muslim weirdos here, unfortunately, and especially anti-lebanese-muslim.

So, what are we going to talk about now with this?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

3. In what way was it a distortion?

"If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street, or in the garden or in the park, or in the backyard without a cover, and the cats come and eat it ... whose fault is it, the cats' or the uncovered meat? The uncovered meat is the problem. If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred."

That sounds fairly clear to me. He backtracked desperately afterwards, but I'm inclined to think that what he said initially is more likely to reflect his real views than what he says afterwards when he realises how hot the water he's in is.

I'd recommend more condemnation of the religious fanatic who blames rape victims (and also denied the holocaust and is viciously anti-semitic), and less of the media who report him doing so.

Not all criticism of Islam is without foundation (although much of it is overgeneralised - many Muslims would be as disgusted by this guy as I am).

[Random_Australian]

8. Yes, the overgeneralisation was the problem.

The basic media premise that this person was representative of Muslim views.

The person in question, though, did need it to be condemned.

[cosmik debris]

4. Another quote

"But when it comes to adultery, it's 90% the women's responsibility. Why? Because a woman possesses the weapon of seduction."

You can't blame that on "sensationalist media" because it is a direct quote. You can't say it is out of context because there is no context in which that is true.

[Random_Australian]

7. That's true. :) The main distortion here was "since this is coming from an

Imam, it means the Muslims believe this"

I have to agree, the comments themselves were pretty loopy.

[Odin2005]

13. How you can defend that sexist fuck is beyond me.

Then again, I ain't a cultural relativist.

[NMMNG]

2. ....

He caused uproar by likening unveiled women to uncovered
meat.
<snip>

Last October, the controversial cleric suggested that immodestly dressed women were to blame for sexual assault,



I can't understand why people are having issues with him. :sarcasm:

[varkam]

5. Blaming the victim

is nothing new to religious ideology. It used to be believed that physical and mental illness was a result of sin (read: they did something bad to deserve it). Comparing women to uncovered meat and blaming them for sexual assault is just more of the same.

[Evoman]

6. You see a lot of that shitty mentality every where.

I've even seen it on DU. Its sick...I don't give a fucking shit if a women is walking NAKED down the street...no one has a right to touch her. And none of the blame is on her if she does get assaulted. Yeah, I said it...NONE.

[skepticscott]

9. Not sure why this shouldn't be just as insulting to men

He's basically saying that women can control their actions and men can't, so women should be held responsible. According to him, men are no different than animals, with no sense of right and wrong, who do nothing but act on their primal instincts to eat (or rut). Granted, he expresses it in a way that's equally offensive to women, but his underlying premise is anti-male.

[Evoman]

10. Sadly enough, many men are little more than animals.

Actually, not many animals have rapists in their midst, so in many ways, they may be even worse. And these men, when they assault women, should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If you can't behave around women, you don't deserve to be around women.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

11. How are you defining "many"?

NT

[kiahzero]

12. Fact: 78.4% of statistics are made up on the spot. (n/t)