Rape row cleric ‘won’t quit’

AUSTRALIA’S most prominent Islamic cleric, widely condemned for suggesting that women who don’t wear head scarves invite rape, yesterday implied he would not resign as long as the White House continues to influence the world.

The board of Sydney’s Lakemba Mosque Association met on Thursday with Sheikh Taj Aldin al-Hilali and decided to accept his apology for comments comparing women who fail to wear the scarves to “uncovered meat” but banned him from giving sermons for two to three months.

Asked if he would resign, Mr al-Hilali said outside Sydney’s largest mosque: “After we clean the world of the White House first.”