Senior Muslim Leader in Australia Says Gay Teachers Are “Mentally Unwell”

Sheik Taj El-Din Hilaly, the former Grand Mufti of Australia, has called gay teachers “mentally unwell” in an interview with The Australian newspaper.

Hilaly made his remarks after Prime Minister Scott Morrison was forced to publicly back out of a government review which sort to allow religious schools to expel gay students and fire gay teachers.

In the interview, Hilaly said teachers should “not impose their lifestyle on the rest of society, especially schools which are supposed to provide an environment of learning and culture and not a club for those seeking to satisfy their desires.”

“We are a free democratic society that believes in diversity and human rights and we reject constrictions on the rights of others even if they are afflicted with abnormal practices that contradict nature,” he added.

“In such cases, we must respect their humanity and deal with the issue as a mental illness that requires care and treatment.”

Hilaly has made controversial remarks before. He once blamed rape victims for causing their own sexual assault by not wearing a hijab: “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?

“The uncovered meat is the problem. If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred.”