Thursday January 25, 08:39 PM

Sheik insists he said nothing offensive

By 7News Controversial Sheik Taj el-Din al-Hilaly has used an interview on his arrival home in Sydney to claim he was misunderstood in reporting of comments he made overseas.

The Sheik sneaked past television cameras at Sydney Airport last night, but today told the Seven Network he had been taken out of context on many points in translations of an interview aired on Egyptian television.

The Mufti was accused last month of saying Muslims had more right to be in Australia than those descended from convicts and that Anglo-Saxons were liars.

But the Sheik told Today Tonight he had actually said that Muslims loved Australia more than anyone.

The Sheik insisted he was confused about the controversy, describing it as "media propaganda for nothing" and claiming he was "100 per cent misunderstood".

"Firstly, it's not correct to interpret my comments that Muslims have more right to Australia than Anglo-Saxons, that's not correct," the sheik's spokesman Keysar Trad translated.

"What my words should mean is that if we are competing to show who loves Australia the most, my words should be interpreted as that we love Australia more than anyone."

"Australia for all, not for any nationality"

"When I talk about lies in the west I'm talking about the politics of telling untruth."

The sheik said he had also been taken out of context in apparent claims that a long prison sentence given to gang rapist Bilal Skaf was racist.

"I said in the same interview, in the same sentence, that he deserves what he gets," the sheik said.

"What I was illustrating is that in the history of rape trials in Australia nobody received such a sentence.".

"He or anybody else, anybody that rapes another person, if they were in a Muslim country that applied Islamic law, this person would be executed."

The Mufti did not comment directly on speculation that he may run against Premier Morris Iemma or endorse candidates for the seat of Lakemba in this year's NSW state election.

"Anything with benefit for our society or community, I send," Sheik Hilaly said.

However, the Sheik said he might have considered running for election 40 years ago, as a younger man. His role now, he said, was to serve society in his current role.

Speaking on the chances of a terrorist attack in Australia, the Mufti said: "It will never happen as long as I am alive".