The parable of the cat and the uncovered meat.

Sheik Taj el-Dene Elhilaly, a Sydney mufti, has upset the Aussies with a sermon in which he said that women displaying their "meat" are responsible for being raped.

"If you take uncovered meat and put it on the street, on the pavement, in a garden, in a park or in the backyard, without a cover and the cats eat it, is it the fault of the cat or the uncovered meat? The uncovered meat is the problem...

"If the meat was in the fridge and it (the cat) smelled it, it can bang its head as much as it wants, but it's no use...

..."If the woman is in her boudoir, in her house and if she's wearing the veil and if she shows modesty, disasters don't happen....

.."The woman was behind Satan playing a role when she disobeyed God and went out all dolled up and unveiled and made of herself palatable food that rakes and perverts would race for. She was the reason behind this sin taking place.

The Australian has a transcript, an Arabic audio file and reaction.

The Sheik is generating such opprobrium because in the modern orthodoxy of post-modern feminist theory all men are rapists and all women are victims. When you think about it, however, his remarks are little more than traditional common sense morality embroidered with a simple parable. Certainly nothing to get worked up about, unless you are a post-modernist feminist.

Tags: Islam