January 22, 2009 03:10pm

THE
Prime Minister and Islamic leaders have condemned a Muslim cleric who
told followers it was permissible to hit their wives and force them to
have sex.

But Coburg mosque cleric Samir Abu
Hamza has told a confidant his message has been taken out of context
and that he was referring to hitting wives in a metaphorical sense. 

Prime Minister Rudd said Mr Hamza's comments had no place in modern Australia.

During
a 2003 lecture also posted on the internet late last year, Mr Hamza
told followers that under Islamic law, men could demand sex from their
wives.

Despite Australian law requiring consent, it was
impossible for a man to rape his wife even if she refused to have sex,
he said.

"Under no circumstances is sexual violence permissible or acceptable in Australia - under no circumstances,'' Mr Rudd said.

"Under
no circumstances are other forms of violence, physical violence,
acceptable towards women in Australia nor are they acceptable in my
view to mainstream Muslim teachings.

"Australia will not
tolerate these sort of remarks. They don't belong in modern Australia,
and he should stand up, repudiate them and apologise.''

The
President of the Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) Ramzi Elsayed said
he had spoken with Mr Hamza about the lecture, titled The Keys to a
Successful Marriage.

"He told me he was speaking in a metaphorical sense,'' Mr Elsayed said.

"In
regards to hitting your wife, his position is that it has always been
metaphorical - it's not a whack, it's not a slap, it's a wake-up
call.''

He said Islam did not condone violence against women or making a wife have sex with her husband against her will.

"He
believes he was taken out of context insofar as he was talking about
people who censure their spouses - it was not so much a physical hit as
a metaphorical one to say wake up, we're heading for a divorce
kind-of-thing,'' Mr Elsayed said.

But the senior honorary
legal adviser to the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, Haset
Seli, hit out at Mr Hamza, calling him a lunatic.

"His lecture was absolutely ludicrous, unIslamic and highlighted the ignorance of the man,'' Mr Seli said.

He said anyone who thinks he can force his wife to have sex with him is a lunatic and certainly not a Muslim.

Mr
Seli said he went through a similar episode with the former Mufti,
Sheik Taj Aldin Alhilali, who caused a national uproar in a 2006
Ramadan speech when he likened scantily clad women to uncovered meat,
suggesting they were to blame for sexual attacks on them.

He also claimed at the time that his comments had been taken out of context.

"Statements like (Mr Hamza's) are about as helpful to Islam as a lunatic parading himself as an imam,'' Mr Seli said.

The Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia (FECCA) said violence against women in any form was unacceptable.

"There can be no cultural or religious defence for violence against women,'' said acting FECCA chair Beryl Mulder.

At
the Islamic Information and Service Network of Australasia, which Mr
Hamza runs in Melbourne, a staff member said the comments had been
taken "absolutely out of context''.

"We do not hit our women,
you can ask any Muslim woman and she will tell you that, it's not part
of Islam,'' the male staff member, who did not want to be named, said.

Mr Hamza was on holiday somewhere in Melbourne for the next "couple of weeks,'' the man said.

Sherene
Hassan, vice president of the ICV, said she was organising workshops
for Victorian imams on the issue of domestic violence.

"There
may be individuals who have interpreted this lecture as condoning
violence against women - it's not the first time we have had this
problem,'' she said.

She said imams will meet next week to plan workshops to find ways of discouraging domestic violence among their followers.

Thomas, I am researching this story and would appreciate it if you could give the source of the Ahmed "10,000" threat. Also, do you know who (re)invited Wilders to the House of Lords?

 Thanks in advance. 

There can be no "thoughs" regarding Lord Ahmed's assertion that his victory, is a victory for the Muslim communty. Sir Winston must be turning over in his venerable resting place. He missed the opportunity to include "Parliament", as one of the places where Brits would fight off the oppressors.

Now, if only one of America's representatives in Congress would invite the same Dutch Parliamentarian, Geert Wilders, to discuss his film in similar circumstance.

Perhaps, then, Keith Ellison, the sole Muslim member of Congress might emulate Lord Ahmed's "Victory" speech from the very halls of that proud, American institution.

Can't see either happening soon, but would be willing to bet on the outcome, should that occur...

Lord Ahmed is right, though: undermining Western democratic values is indeed "a victory for the Muslim community."