Said women who do not wear hijab inviting men to rape them

SYDNEY - The Muslim cleric who sparked outrage in Australia by comparing scantily dressed women to "uncovered meat" was suspended from duty yesterday but refused to resign.

Sheik Taj el-Din Al Hilali, who appeared to suggest in a recent sermon that women who did not wear the hijab incited men to rape them, emerged from midday prayers at the Sydney mosque in a defiant mood.

When asked by reporters whether he would resign, the self-styled mufti of Australia replied, "After we clean the world of the White House first."

His spokesman said later he was making the point that U.S. President George W. Bush's foreign policy and the invasion of Iraq were more deserving of criticism than a sermon.

"He says he's just a frail old cleric, not the president of the United States, and the media should not be so pedantic about his words," said the spokesman.

The controversy arose over a Ramadan sermon in which the Egyptian- born cleric said women who did not wear the hijab, used makeup and "sway suggestively" were inviting men to rape them.

While his comments have dominated the news in Australia for the past two days, the imam seems impervious to the mayhem his remarks have caused.

His only act of contrition has been to issue a short written statement, which said he was talking about modesty and not rape in the sermon.

"I condemn rape," he said in the statement. "I unreservedly apologize to any woman who is offended by my comments. I had only intended to protect women's honour."

The board of Sydney's Lakemba Mosque Association accepted Mr. Hilali's public apology late on Thursday, and his excuse the comments had been taken out of context, but suspended him from preaching at the mosque for up to three months.

However, the mild reprimand falls well short of the action being demanded by the wider Muslim community and Australia's political and religious leaders.

John Howard, the Prime Minister, said Mr. Hilali would no longer be allowed to sit on the government's Muslim advisory committee.

He also urged the Muslim community to act fast to repudiate his assertions and avoid tarnishing its image in Australian society.

"I think what he's done is so unacceptable and so out of line with not only mainstream Australian opinion but ... mainstream Muslim opinion," he said.

Some community members were unhappy with the decision not to take action.

"There were a few items there we didn't fully accept," said Tom Zreika, president of the Lebanese Muslim Association. "Some people on the board would have liked to see more done, but unfortunately we can only speak as a board."

Many members of Mr. Hilali's congregation appear to be behind him, however. Outside the mosque, his anti-American rhetoric was greeted by cheers and applause from dozens of supporters.

The incident is dividing the Muslim community in Australia, which is trying to mend rifts exposed by the country's worst race riots in December, when white residents clashed with youths of Middle Eastern extraction in Sydney.