I Like The Way the Aussies Do Business

Got a problem Muslim cleric? Sit his butt down for three months and see if that shuts him up:

Australia's top Muslim cleric has been barred from preaching for up to three months, after comparing immodestly dressed women to "uncovered meat".

Sheikh Taj el-Din al-Hilali's comments, suggesting that women who did not wear a headscarf attracted sexual assault, have caused a storm of protest.

Sydney's mosque association said the suspension would give the cleric time to consider the impact of his words.

But Australian Premier John Howard said the action was insufficient.

Many people - including some Muslim leaders - have called for the cleric to be dismissed from office.

Of course, had a Christian pastor made a statement of comparable outrage, he would have been permanently drummed out of the ministry.