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'rape victim' defends besieged australian cleric
The backing of a woman who described herself as a rape victim Saturday took some of the heat off Australia's embattled top Muslim cleric, under pressure for saying scantily-clad women invited sexual attack. Cindy Taylor said Sheik Taj Aldin al-Hilali had not intended to justify rape by comparing immodestly-dressed women to "uncovered meat", comments that sparked calls from politicians and some Muslim leaders for his resignation. He's a wonderful man and his analogy certainly did not justify the act of rape," said Taylor, who said she had twice been raped, although no-one had ever been charged. "He was not being politically correct. But he's not a politician, he's a philosophical leader," she said outside Sydney's Lakemab Mosque, where police and journalists outnumbered a small gathering of around 100 Muslim worshippers. Taylor, who said she was raised a Christian and had developed an interest in Islam, said she understood what the Imam was trying to say, and urged Australians to be more open-minded. "He believes that the act of rape is one of the worst capital crimes in Islam," she said.
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