EXCLUSIVE
A controversial Muslim cleric who famously compared uncovered women to ‘pieces of meat’ has died at 82.
Sheik Taj El-Din Hilaly’s death – once Australia’s most high-profile Islamic cleric as Mufti of Australia – was confirmed by his daughter, Asma, in a statement to Daily Mail Australia on Thursday morning.
Hilaly was one of the most controversial figures in Australia in the early 2000s after making a series of controversial remarks.
In October 2006, he sparked a firestorm after comparing women who did not cover up their skin to ‘uncovered meat’ left to be eaten by cats.
The last photo of Sheik Taj El-Din Hilaly (pictured) was taken on September 24, during his trip to Mecca and Medina
‘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?’ Hilaly said in a Ramadan sermon.
‘The uncovered meat is the problem. If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred.’
He later unreservedly apologised after controversy, which made women so angry they planned to march in bikinis at Lakemba mosque.
‘I had only intended to protect women’s honour,’ the sheik said.
In a statement on Thursday, Hilaly’s daughter Asma said: ‘Sheik Hilaly was an institution whose legacy will outlive most of us. He was a caring father for the community.’
‘He served tirelessly, he would respond to the call of any member of the community night or day.
Hilaly (pictured, centre) was one of the most controversial figures in Australia in the early 2000s after making a series of controversial remarks.
‘He can be credited with nurturing the love of Islam in the hearts of the Australian Muslim community.
‘He worked tirelessly, even in the face of concerted campaigns in the public sphere, he remained steadfast and a model of humility and hard work for the community. He was an Australian icon who will leave a huge void.’
Hilaly had been living in Egypt when he died, but frequently travelled back to Sydney.
His cause of death is unknown.
His friend and colleague, Shaykh Ahmed Abdo, added a tribute.
‘My heart is saddened by the news of the passing of Sheik Taj El-Din Hilally, a pioneer in the establishing of the foundations of the Muslim community in Australia,’ Mr Abdo wrote.
‘May Allah raise his ranks and unite him with Rasulallah.’
The Lebanese Muslim Association also released a statement on Thursday to pay tribute to the sheik.
‘He carried the weight of the Australian Muslim Ummah alone on his veyr broad shoulders and his even bigger heart,’ it read.
‘Sheik Taj, the LMA and Lakemba Mosque will forever be indebted to you for your invaluable service and commitment to Islam in Australia.
‘You were the beacon of light when our Ummah was fractured.’
Hilaly was appointed served as the Inam of Lakemba Mosque for 31 years, between 1982 and 2013, during which time he was also appointed Mufti of Australia in 1988.
He was an Islamic scholar who worked as a guest speaker and delivered online lectures until his death.
In 2005, Hilaly criticised then-Prime Minister John Howard over anti-terrorism legislation – rejecting the assertion that the the laws were not ‘anti-Muslim.
At the time, he told SBS Radio that Muslims rejected any ideology or actions that supported terrorism or actions that would harm Australia.
‘There is fear that this is not the Australia that we know,’ he said.
‘There are people who are suspicious of such excessive force … I have received a lot of complaints. There is fear, there is fire under the coals.’
Later that year, he was named ‘Muslim man of the year’ at the Australian Muslim Achievement Awards.
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