Controversial Australian mufti steps down

AFP
AFP
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SYDNEY: Australia s outspoken Islamic leader Sheikh Taj Aldin al-Hilali, who controversially referred to immodestly-clad women as uncovered meat, was Sunday replaced as the nation s mufti.

Hilali was initially reappointed to the position of mufti to Australia and New Zealand by a gathering of Muslim preachers in Melbourne but gracefully declined, the Australian National Imams Council said.

We recognize the great services that Sheikh Taj Aldin Al-Hilali has provided over the years and we pray for his good health, the council said.

The council elected Melbourne preacher Sheikh Fehmi Naji El-Imam to a two-year term.

Hilali provoked anger last year when he likened scantily-clad women to uncovered meat inviting rape during a sermon.

The comments led to him being denounced by some Muslims and the broader community but the mufti refused to resign, bringing Islamic leaders under intense pressure to remove the Sydney-based preacher from the position.

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