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 SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - A senior Islamic cleric's comments comparing unveiled women to "uncovered meat" could widen a cultural divide between the majority of Australians and the country's Muslim minority, which has been criticized for failing to suppress its extremist fringe.
Sheik Taj Aldin al-Hilali, the mufti of Australia since 1989, apologized last week for any offense he caused by saying during a sermon that women were soldiers of Satan and comparing women without headscarves to "uncovered meat" who invite rape.
However, al-Hilali has defied demands to stand down, insisting he was misinterpreted, while calls by Prime Minister John Howard and other outraged politicians for the Muslim community to remove him from his post have been ignored.
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