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CANBERRA - The end is drawing nigh for Sheik Taj Din Alhilali, Mufti of Australia - and also, by his own reckoning, of New Zealand.
A group of Islamic leaders is being formed to name a successor to the cleric who has variously reviled Jews as the cause
of all wars, denied the Holocaust, blamed rape victims for their own fate by comparing them to "uncovered meat", and claimed greater right to Australia than the descendants of convicts.
In what has become a series of initiatives to reconcile Australia and Islam, the National Imams Council has given Alhilali a three-month breathing space to allow him to retire gracefully.
Key among these has been the muting of Alhilali and other firebrand preachers who have attacked Australian society, supported jihad, and espoused other radical teachings.
They have also taken more down-to-earth measures, including proposals to encourage more Muslims to become surf lifesavers and firefighters.
The measures have followed a long run of bad press in Australia, and opinion polls that have on one side shown non-Muslim Australians misunderstand much of Islam and fear or mistrust its followers, and on the other, discrimination, abuse and assaults on Muslims.
The Islamic community has been hit by a spate of ugly headlines, such as the gang rapes targeting Caucasian Australian women by Muslim youths, the arrest and trial of alleged terror cells and supporters, and, more recently, investigations into allegations that some clerics are advising Muslims to avoid paying tax.
Tensions between Muslims and the rest of Australia erupted into the Christmas 2005 riots at the Sydney beachside suburb of Cronulla.
As leaders on both sides of the divide attacked stereotypes and encouraged tolerance and reconciliation, Alhilali added fuel to the fire.
Appointed Mufti of Australia in 1988 and named first Muslim Man of the Year in 2005, he arrived from Lebanon in 1982. In the same year he was appointed Mufti, officials tried to deport him for inciting hatred, but the Government recanted and he was granted permanent residency and citizenship.
His near-deportation was triggered by a speech at Sydney University in which he attacked Jews as the cause of all wars.
Three years ago in a sermon in Lebanon he urged young Muslim men to become "martyrs", and described the September 11 terror attacks on the United States as "God's work against oppressors".
Last year he caused a national uproar when, after alluding to the lengthy sentences given Lebanese gang rapists, he described woman as weapons of Satan and said victims had themselves to blame.
Now a special committee set up by the Imams Council - selected for their knowledge of both Islam and Australian society - will appoint a new Mufti. They must have an understanding of modern Australia, a good grasp of the English language, and the ability to help improve relations between Muslims and the rest of the country.
But Prime Minister John Howard believes Alhilali should have no grace period.
"All I can say is the failure of the community to do something more decisive about this is damaging the image of Islamic Australians as part of our community," he told Sky News.
