A prominent Melbourne imam has publicly apologised after an old sermon in which he told male parishioners they could bash their wives to ‘shape them up’ resurfaced online.
Samir Mohtadi is the leader and founder of the MyCentre mosque in Broadmeadows, which recently made headlines over alleged links to Hamam al-Hammami, the Flydubai co-pilot accused of attempting to hijack and crash an Israel-bound passenger jet on September 30.
The United Arab Emirates‘ top prosecutor claimed earlier this month that al-Hammami became acquainted with individuals at MyCentre while studying at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2017.
Days after Mr Mohtadi strongly rejected claims of any association between al-Hammami and MyCentre, footage of a controversial sermon from more than two decades ago resurfaced.
In a 2003 sermon titled ‘The Keys to a Successful Marriage’, Mr Mohtadi gave marriage advice, including instructions for wives to wear ‘perfume’ and make sure the house was ‘nice and clean’, while warning that women who disobeyed their husbands ‘will go to hell’.
He also advised men on when they should beat their wives.
‘This is the last resort, advise her for a long, long time, then you smack them, you beat them …. you are not allowed to bruise them, you are not allowed to make them bleed, it is haram (forbidden),’ he said.
‘If you disobey your husband you will go to hell, it is as simple as that.’
MyCentre founder Samir Mohtadi (pictured with MP Kathleen Matthews-Ward and then Victorian Police Minister, Anthony Carbines) has apologised for comments made in an old sermon which have resurfaced
In the 2003 sermon, Mr Mohtadi gave instructions on how men should beat their wives
In the sermon, uploaded to YouTube in 2013, he also told women when they should have sex with their husbands and questioned Australian laws on rape.
‘In this country, if the husband wants to sleep with his wife and she does not want to she hasn’t got (inaudible) she just doesn’t fell like it and he ends up sleeping with her by force it is known to be as a rape. Amazing, how can a person rape his wife?’, he said.
‘Even if her husband was to ask her for a sexual relationship and she is preparing the bread on the stove she must leave it and come and respond to her husband.’
The decades-old sermon, which remains online, first gained public attention in 2009, when Mr Mohtadi’s comments came under fire from then-prime minister Kevin Rudd.
‘Under no circumstances is sexual violence permissible or acceptable in Australia,’ Rudd said.
‘Australia will not tolerate these sort of remarks. They don’t belong in modern Australia, and he should stand up, repudiate them and apologise.’
Mr Mohtadi addressed his previous comments in a statement issued on Saturday, explaining that he was responding to questions during a lecture.
‘Throughout my more than 30 years of community service, I have consistently opposed all forms of violence, particularly family violence and violence against women,’ the statement read.
On Saturday, Samir Mohtadi publicly apologised for his previous comment
His comments resurfaced after MyCentre recently made headlines over alleged links to Hamam al-Hammami, the Flydubai co-pilot accused of attempting to hijack and crash an Israel-bound passenger jet last month
‘There is no place for violence against women in our homes and communities.
‘Family violence is a crime and we all have responsibility to prevent it.
‘I sincerely apologise for my past comments.
‘My commitment to preventing family violence and supporting the safety and dignity of women and families remains unwavering.’
The Daily Mail has contacted MyCentre for further comment.
It comes after Mr Mohtadi distanced MyCentre and himself from alleged associations with al-Hammami.
‘I have never met al-Hammami… and we have no record of him ever attending our centre,’ he said last week.
‘The relevant authorities should have verified these claims with me before releasing or publishing such information.’
Hamam al-Hammami (pictured) began drifting towards extremism while studying in Melbourne almost a decade ago, according to a top United Arab Emirates prosecutor
The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils added: ‘Attempts to associate MyCentre with terrorism are misleading, harmful and inconsistent with the facts.’
MyCentre previously received several substantial grants from the Victorian Labor Government.
