Face of the Future?

Let's hope that we start seeing more Islamic leaders like this guy.

Sheikh Taj el-Din al-Hilali is Australia's most senior Muslim cleric or Mufti.

He is currently on a mercy mission in Iraq, hoping his influence can save the life of Australian hostage Douglas Wood.

"We feel for Australians and we will do our best to bring our brother, Douglas Wood, home," he told reporters at Sydney airport before he left.


To his supporters, Sheikh Taj is a charismatic figure.

But his opponents see him as a menace. They have accused him of praising suicide bombers and claiming the attacks in the United States on 11 September were "God's work against oppressors".

The Egyptian-born cleric has insisted his remarks - spoken in Arabic on a trip to the Middle East last year - were misinterpreted, and that he is committed to fighting Islamic fundamentalism.

"My stand is very clear. I have a long history of condemning violence and extremism," Sheikh Taj told the BBC through an interpreter.

"I was amongst the first people to condemn the 11 September tragedy and those behind it," he said.

I'm tempted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I suppose we'll have to wait and see. If he's genuine, then he should be held up as an example for other Muslims to follow.