And here's why women are being raped in Australia

[Ice]

Just another idiot. It really is that easy. No explanation needed.

[Samurai Waki]

It just supports the fact that all rapists, murderers, and thieves are inheirantly cowards. And if someone lives like a Coward, they should also die a coward's death.

[Prince of the Poodles]

Just another idiot. It really is that easy. No explanation needed.

[Major Robert Dump]

That guy from the other thread who was caught having sex with the dog should have used this defense.....well it had just had a trim, so its hair was short and its supple skin was showing, and it was wagging its tail all sexy like, it was asking for it

[GoreBag]

Its interesting that he refers to their uncovered flesh as "meat." I've personally never thought of gangraping suggestively dressed young women, but I have to admit I do get an erection when I see the the RibEyes and T-Bones in the meat counter at the local Super Target. who knows what I'd do if there weren't children and cameras around. Men are such....animals

Uncovered flesh is meat. Some languages don't even distinguish between the two words.

[Duke of Gloucester]

Uncovered flesh is meat. Some languages don't even distinguish between the two words.

But English, which you and he both speak does distinguish between them, and because it does, referring to flesh as meat treats with disrespect the person whose flesh we are referring to.

[Don Corleone]

Men who think there's an excuse for raping women will always find one. While it's easy to pile onto Australia's resident mufti, there's plenty of Christian, Jewish and secular leaders that make similar arguments, though typically couched in more politcally correct language to be sure.

At the end of the day, rape isn't about sex. It's an act of power (more accurately, abuse of power) and your typical rapist is more interested in 'getting his way for once' then sexual gratification.

An interesting study.... they interview just about every rapist in jail as to why they did it, when they did it, how they chose their victim, etcetera. The rapist can name details, describe how they were feeling, how they planned the act out, why they made the specific choices they did (such as why in a bush versus dragging the victim into the alley). The one thing the rapist tends to have a difficult time describing? The physical description of the victim herself.

There's a fairly large minority of rapists that are impotent and relatively asexual. They use objects, such as wine bottles and broom handles as the object of phallic penetration. Before people start talking about how provocative dress or clubhopping behavior causes rapes, I'd like somebody to explain to me what 80 year old women, at home in their own house wearing housecoats did to bring about their rape and how they were culpable for it.

[Lemur]

Thanks for those horrific images, Don. I'm glad I read that after lunch.

In other news, it seems the Mufti realized he stepped in it:

Muslim leader apologizes for rape comments

SYDNEY, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- An Australian Muslim leader has apologized for causing offense with a sermon blaming immodestly dressed women for sexual assaults.

Sheik Taj Aldin Alhilali apologized after The Australian detailed his comments, which compared women who do not wear Muslim headdresses to "uncovered meat" that attracts hungry animals, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Thursday.

"I unreservedly apologise to any woman who is offended by my comments," Alhilali said.

"I had only intended to protect women's honor, something lost in The Australian presentation of my talk."

Alhilali's earlier comments seemed to place blame for sexual attacks on the victims, The Australian reported.

"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."

Prime Minister John Howard described the comments as "appalling and reprehensible."

"The idea that women are to blame for rapes is preposterous."

[Lemur]

Some you mean, and that some being female muslim leaders, doubt they are a very big group. Maybe it's just the kremlinwatcher in me.

Doesn't look as though it's just fringe Muslims and women who are upset:

The leader of Australia's largest Islamic organisation has threatened to ban the cleric from teaching at Lakemba Mosque in Western Sydney.

Tom Zreika, president of the Lebanese Muslim Association, which owns the mosque, said he condemned Sheikh Hilali's words.

[whyidie]

Thats because people in Western Society don't really listen to crack pots, unlike certain people, who are part of a certain faith, in generally a certain part of the world who take everything for gospel.

C'mon man. Our crazy conservative brethern would be rioting in the streets if they weren't so downtrodden by the liberal elite. At least they can muster up the will to post all the news thats fit to outrage.

[Vladimir]

Thanks for those horrific images, Don. I'm glad I read that after lunch.

In other news, it seems the Mufti realized he stepped in it:

Muslim leader apologizes for rape comments

"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?
"

Hmmm, kill the cats?

[rory_20_uk]

Alleluya! Moderate Muslims have said he's gone to far - that's what the world needs to hear - it is an "us and them", but the majority of Muslims are in the same camp we are.

Speaking out against a loud mouthed biggot who is about 500 years out of date does not denigrate a religion. If anything it upholds it.

[Hepcat]

I saw this in the paper today and thought, sure he has a point about whether it is encouraged by wearing suggestive clothing, but then doesn't that mean that by taking your car out of your garage it is YOUR fault for it getting stolen, or that by having a nice garden your are encouraging people to ruin it, or by walking down the street you are encouring people to mug you.

He obviously hasn't thought of it that way because if he did then he would see how utterly stupid his statement is.

[Mooks]

Wow, the muslim community taking a stand against one of its members! Now if only they had enough guts to do it too terrorists also...

[CountArach]

It is interesting that he blamed women for being raped by men, yet he never said that men who are raped by women (A lot more common than it sounds) are to blame for being raped. Chauvanistic indeed...

It is good that he has apologised, but I believe that his excuse was weak. Wanting to defend their honour... pah!

[Scurvy]

Wow, the muslim community taking a stand against one of its members! Now if only they had enough guts to do it too terrorists also...

most of the western world doesnt have the guts to stand up to terrorists, its even more difficult for the mislum community to do so.

[Papewaio]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

President of the Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA) Tom Zreika said a meeting with the cleric was scheduled this afternoon at Lakemba Mosque, where Sheik Hilaly preaches.

The LMA will tonight release the details of its plan to address the crisis caused by a sermon given by Sheik Hilaly which suggested that immodestly dressed women invite sexual assault, Mr Zreika said.

"I'm hoping something will come out of this. I need to close it off. It's just dragging on too long... something's happened - let's just leave it at that," he said.

Mr Zreika would not say whether there was a standoff between the sheik and the LMA about the cleric stepping down, but confirmed that Sheik Hilaly's position would be one subject of today's meeting.

A statement from the sheik on whether he would step down or hold on to his position as Australia's mufti is expected tonight.

Prime Minister John Howard said this morning he was "very uncomfortable" with the senior cleric representing Islamic Australia abroad and that Sheik Hilaly had tarnished the Muslim community's image.

Queensland Liberal MP Warren Entsch said his immediate reaction was to think "to hell with him" and called for the sheik's permanent residency status to be revoked.

Dr Jamal Rifi, who considers himself a friend of the cleric, has written an open letter to Sheik Hilaly calling for him to step down as mufti of Australia for the good of the greater Australian Muslim community.

"He definitely has put us in a very difficult situation, a very unenviable position, but as a community we have to rise up and reach the challenges that we are facing right now," Dr Rifi said today on ABC radio.

He said the sheik had underestimated the impact of his statement on the Muslim community.

"He described (it) as a storm in a cup, while I and many of my community see it as a category five cyclone," he said.

Keyser Trad, a friend of Sheik Hilaly and spokesman for the Lebanese Muslim Association, said he did not believe the cleric would stand aside following a discussion this morning.

"When I spoke to him I encouraged him not to heed any of those calls for resignation," Mr Trad said.

Sheik Hilaly was "very disappointed" after his friend Dr Rifi wrote to the cleric asking him to step down, Mr Trad said.

"With friends like that, who needs enemies," he said.

"Most people in the community, especially those who heard his original, low-key talk, understand the message was only about modesty and abstinence and they can feel this is a witch hunt.

"A number of people, politicians and other lobby groups are settling some old scores.

"Again, this is pandering to the lynch mob rather than exercising natural justice."

Opposition Leader Kim Beazley and deputy Labor leader Jenny Macklin said the sheik's comments were unacceptable and he should step down from his position.

Ms Macklin also said Attorney-General Philip Ruddock should actively investigate whether Sheik Hilaly had broken any laws with his comments.

This is fairly big news her, first article on most tv, radio and web media sites

www.smh.com.au
www.news.com.au

From the outset there has been a very strong reaction against him, and a lot of those are muslim who are angry with what he has said.

He has also is pro Iraqi militants

SHEIK Taj al-Din al-Hilaly has praised militant jihadists in Iraq and Afghanistan, calling them men of the highest order for fighting against coalition forces - which include Australian soldiers - to "liberate" their homelands.

In an interview on Arabic radio two weeks ago, the imam based at Sydney's Lakemba mosque said he was opposed to terror attacks in Madrid, London and New York but strongly endorsed fighters in the Palestinian territories, Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the interview, Sheik Hilaly pays tribute to Sayyid Qutb, the ideologue of the Muslim Brotherhood and intellectual mentor of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.

"Jihad of the liberator of Palestine, that's the greatest and cleanest and highest ... jihad which lifts our heads (in pride) in south Lebanon," Sheik Hilaly says in the October 17 interview.

He tells broadcaster Abrahim Zoabi that he endorses jihad for liberation. "We are talking about ... jihad of liberating our land, jihad of Muslim Afghanis in their land - that's jihad.

"Jihad of Iraqi Muslims is jihad, but not when Sunnis and Shias are killing each other; that's not jihad."

The last bit in particular points out... well if they aren't attacking each other they are attacking the coalition. He is essentially saying that the best thing that the militants can do is attack Australian troops... not really a great man is he. I really hope he gets done for incitement to violence and has his residency stripped. He is of the say ilk as the Bali bombers and the 911 attacks, same sect and idealology.