Australian cleric suspended over "meat" sermon

CANBERRA, Oct 27 (Reuters) Australia's top Muslim cleric has been barred from preaching for three months after describing women who do not dress modestly as ''uncovered meat'', but the government decried the punishment as being too lenient.

The comments by Sheikh Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly, the mufti of Australia's biggest mosque in Sydney, has outraged Muslims and the wider community, prompting calls for the Egyptian-born cleric to be sacked and deported.

Prime Minister John Howard said today the suspension order by the Australian Lebanese Muslim Association, which owns Hilaly's Lakemba Mosque, was not enough.

''I believe that unless this matter is satisfactorily resolved by the Islamic community, there is a real worry that some lasting damage will be done,'' Howard told Australian radio.

''We do not want the Islamic community isolated. We do not want the Islamic community to be an object of criticism and derision. It is an exercise of self-discipline for them (Muslim leaders) to deal with these sorts of issues.'' Howard said Hilaly, who courted controversy two years ago by glorifying martyrdom and calling the September 11 attacks the work of God, was now an Australian citizen and could not be deported.

Hilaly has apologised for his comments, which he said had been misinterpreted and taken out of context. He attended prayers at the Lakemba Mosque in Sydney's west today, but did not give the sermon.

In a Ramadan sermon last month, Hilaly said sexual assaults might not happen if women wore a hijab and stayed at home.

''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,'' Hilaly said, according to a newspaper translation.

His sermon has again strained relations between the conservative government and sections of Australia's Muslim community, which makes up 1.5 per cent of the 20 million population.

Australia's Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward said Hilaly's apology and suspension were not enough, and he should be sacked.

''Colourful language is absolutely insulting to Australian women who have been the victims of sexual assault and who may be the victims of sexual assault because of this sort of attitude,'' Goward told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

But Tom Zreika, President of the Australian Lebanese Muslim Association, said the suspension was designed to give Hilaly time to consider his future and the impact of his comments.

''We felt the three months away would give him time to mull over what's been said,'' Zreika told Australian television.

REUTERS AB VV1028