Australia's imams say they will replace controversial Muslim cleric Sheik Taj al-Din al-Hilali later this year with a spiritual leader who is “The unanimous opinion was to form a Council of Fatwa made of qualified people who will consult thoroughly with the Muslim community on this issue,” Dr Abdalla said. “They gave an interim of three months to form this new council, which will be made up of people nominated by all the various states. At the end of the three months, or once this is formulated, then the council will look at the issue of the mufti again.”
Dr Abdalla said the Council of Fatwa would be looking for a number of qualities in the person they elect as Australia's next mufti. “Firstly, the person must be qualified in the Islamic legal aspects, but also one must be able to communicate in the English language, and also be aware of the social, economic, and political context of Australia,” he said. Dr Abdalla said importantly the new mufti would have to be someone who could smooth relations between Muslims and the wider Australian community. “That was a point that was made very clear in the conference, that whoever the mufti is to be must be absolutely careful
He said until a new mufti is elected, a spokesperson would handle all communications on behalf of the ANIC. “For the meanwhile there will be a spokesperson who can communicate on behalf of the Muslims in a way that is consistent with not only the objectives of the council but also consistent with the Australian culture and values,” Dr Abdalla said. “I would assume I will continue to do that until three months have lapsed and we'll see what happens then.”