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.
