A prominent Melbourne imam has apologised after a decades-old sermon resurfaced online in which he told men they could hit their wives to “shape them up”.
Samir Mohtadi founded and leads the MyCentre mosque in Broadmeadows, which recently came under scrutiny over alleged connections to Hamam al-Hammami, a Flydubai co-pilot accused of trying to hijack and crash an Israel-bound passenger plane on September 30.
The United Arab Emirates’ top prosecutor said earlier this month that al-Hammami met people linked to MyCentre while studying at Melbourne’s Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2017.
Mr Mohtadi strongly denied any connection between al-Hammami and MyCentre. Days later, footage of a contentious sermon delivered more than 20 years ago began circulating again.
In the 2003 address, titled “The Keys to a Successful Marriage”, Mr Mohtadi offered guidance to married couples. He urged women to wear “perfume” and keep their homes “nice and clean”, while saying wives who disobeyed their husbands “will go to hell”.
He also discussed circumstances in which he believed men could physically discipline 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
The sermon, which was uploaded to YouTube in 2013, also addressed when women should have sex with their husbands and challenged Australian laws concerning 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 feel 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 sermon remains available online and first attracted widespread attention in 2009, when then-prime minister Kevin Rudd condemned Mr Mohtadi’s remarks.
“Under no circumstances is sexual violence permissible or acceptable in Australia,” Mr Rudd said at the time.
“Australia will not tolerate these sort of remarks. They don’t belong in modern Australia, and he should stand up, repudiate them and apologise.”
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In a statement released on Saturday, Mr Mohtadi responded to the resurfaced comments, saying he had been answering 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 said.
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.