Sydney, Australia - Australia's top Islamic cleric, who triggered a furor last year when he referred to women without head scarves as "uncovered meat," will be replaced, but not for three more months, religious leaders have decided.
On Friday, Prime Minister John Howard criticized the decision to let Sheik Taj Aldin al-Hilali stay on as mufti of Australia any longer, saying Muslim leaders were out of touch with the wishes of most Australians.
About 60 members of the Australian National Imams Council met on Sunday to decide the fate of al-Hilali, who triggered outrage among many Australians with a series of speeches and media appearances in Australia and the Middle East.
He made his most controversial remarks in a sermon last September, when he blamed women for tempting men to rape them, saying, "If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside ... and the cats come to eat it ... whose fault is it?"
Al-Hilali denied his comments could incite rape and apologized for them, but soon afterward he sparked further anger by saying Muslims have more right to live in Australia than the descendants of convicts.
Council spokesman Mohamad Abdalla said Monday a smaller group would be appointed to find a replacement mufti whose views are more "consistent with the Australian culture and values." The process is expected to take three months, he said.
"Firstly, the person must be qualified in the Islamic legal aspects, but also one must be able to communicate in the English language, and also be aware of the social, economic, and political context of Australia," Abdalla said.
Howard said the council members should have fired al-Hilali.
"It's not our power or right to appoint religious leaders, but I think they're doing their community damage," Howard told Sky News. "I remain very strongly of the view that they're very much out of touch with community sentiment."
Muslims are a minority of about 300,000 among Australia's mostly Christian population of more than 20 million, and relations between the two communities are sometimes tense.