Asia-Pacific News
Australian mufti mocks planned bikini rally in front of his mosque
Jan 12, 2007, 11:12 GMT
Cairo - The Mufti of Australia Sheikh Taj Din al-Hilali has mocked the women's bikini rally planned for January 26 in front of his mosque, the pan-Arab al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Friday.
Egyptian-born al-Hilali said in an interview with al-Sahrq al- Awsat that the protest was 'a form of craziness.'
'As I believe in Muslim women's right to wear the veil, I don't interfere with Austrian women's right to wear bikinis,' he said.
'But it is an outfit worn on the beach not to protest in front of a mosque.'
Al-Hilali made international headlines last year when he said that women who don't wear the veil are like 'uncovered meat,' inviting rapists.
As recently as Thursday, the leader of Australia's 350,000-strong Muslim community said on Egyptian television that Muslims have a greater claim to Australia than non-Muslims because they arrived as fee-paying immigrants rather than 'shackled convicts.'
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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