Australian Muslim leader compares uncovered women to exposed meat

Oh my, you're not eating them now are you?

A senior Muslim cleric in Australia has sparked a furore by comparing women who do not wear a headscarf to "uncovered meat", implying that they invited sexual assault.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is all it takes to ensure that you never, ever have sex again.
Sheik Taj Aldin al-Hilali delivered his comments in a religious address on adultery to around 500 worshippers in Sydney last month, but they only came to the attention of the wider public when they were published in the Australian paper today.

You just can't tell 500 people anything anymore. They tell 500 people and then they tell 500 people and before you know it, BAM, it's in the newspaper, on TV, on the internet and you have to go and explain yourself.

Sheik Hilali was quoted as saying: "If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside ... without cover, and the cats come to eat it ... whose fault is it, the cats' or the uncovered meat's? The uncovered meat is the problem. If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab [the headdress worn by some Muslim women], no problem would have occurred."

Sure, you can lock someone in a room for fifty years and chances are nothing will ever happen to them. Problem is, NOTHING will ever happen to them, bad or good. This world may be crazy, twisted, demented and downright fucking dangerous. You may have religious fanatics blowing things up, crooked politicians running governments into the ground at the suffering of their people for thier own personal gain, corporations driving people into an early grave without any real compensation. You may have random violent crimes being committed, school shootings, murders of passion or boredom, poisonous pollution and the globe heating up. Weather poised to wipe us all into the oceans but...well...shit, maybe we should stay inside.

The Egyptian-born cleric, the mufti of Sydney's biggest mosque, today sought to defuse the outrage his comments had sparked, including among fellow Muslims.

"I was only kidding. Um...praise Allah?"
Sheik Hilali said in a statement he was shocked by reaction to his sermon.

Shocked? Really? In my experience comparing a woman to a piece of meat usually ends badly. They tend to take that negatively.
"I would like to unequivocally confirm that the presentation related to religious teachings on modesty and not to go to extremes in enticements. This does not condone rape. I condemn rape," he said.

Well that's good.

"Women in our Australian society have the freedom and right to dress as they choose; the duty of man is to avert his glance or walk away."

What?