[The Australian] The Islamic cleric who fled Australia after revelations of his anti-gay views was originally Âinvited to give talks at the Imam Husain Islamic Centre in Sydney by Sheik Mansour Leghaei, the controversial Iranian sheik in exile who has been accused of being an Iranian spy.Sheik Farrokh Sekaleshfar, who said that "death is the punishment for homosexual acts" in a 2013 lecture, had also toured Florida in March, only months before Omar Mateen's bloody attack at an Orlando gay nightclub.
Sheik Sekaleshfar has denied inciting violence and said his views were delivered as an Âacademic studying Islamic law and were taken out of context.
Yesterday, Sheik Leghaei's son, Sadegh Leghaei, confirmed his father remained a "religious director" at the center, where he was responsible for religious Âinstruction and guidance. But he denied knowing in advance anything about Sheik Sekaleshfar's anti-gay views.
Still, Sadegh Leghaei said the issue had been "blown out of all proportion."
Leghaei said, "I don’t think he was stating his personal view. I think he was stating what religion, in its strictest form, under strict circumstances, in a very strict court of law, in an ÂIslamic country that condones those laws, would be applicable."
The direct involvement of Leghaei in promoting Sekaleshfar at the Islamic center will not comfort Australian intelligence as Sheik Leghaei was exiled from Australia six years ago for "acts of interference."
Mansour Leghaei and the Imam Husain Islamic Centre, which he founded, have been mired in controversy for years.
The center is a Shia institution, meaning it is not connected to Daesh. However, ASIO has in the past investigated the center, concerned it might be an instrument of Iranian espionage or Âinfluence. ASIO handed down four adverse security appraisals on Sheik Leghaei and is firmly of the view that he was an Iranian intelligence operative.
About 70 to 100 people Âattended Sekaleshfar's talks at the Islamic center in Earlwood before he left the country as Australian officials prepared the cancellation of his visa. He had been allowed into Australia despite Âdelivering a sermon in Florida "How to Deal with the Phenomenon of Homosexuality" and another notorious speech in 2013 in Michigan discussing the death penalty for gays who are witnessed having sex by four people.
"Death is the sentence. There's nothing to be embarrassed about this. Death is the sentence," he said during a 2013 lecture at the University of Michigan.
| Which, in context, is the Islamic equivalent to flying a gay pride flag in front of your home while wearing a feather boa. |