Muslim women shouldn't have to wear veil, says Sydney imam; beaten up with shoe

Cairo: A lawyer beat up an Australian imam with a shoe during a live debate show on an Egyptian channel for saying Muslim women should not be forced to wear the veil.

According to a report in Middle East Eye, Egyptian lawyer Nabih al-Wahsh and imam Mostafa Rashid from Sydney were discussing if women should wear headscarves or not.

During the debate, Rashid said wearing veil is a cultural tradition and not a religious duty so they should not be forced to wear headscarves. Wahsh, however, got offended and took off his shoes and hit Rashid on the head.

Television presenter Mohammed al-Ghaiti tried to pacify the two men, but he had to call others for assistance as two were fighting aggressively and he failed to intervene.

“It was a free fight in the middle of the studio. I never expected that something like this could happen on air,” Ghaiti told viewers after the incident.

A member of the production team was injured while breaking up the fight and a pane of glass broke, Ghaiti said.

Rashid, a scholar in Islamic theology, has stoked controversy in the past as well. He had once said that drinking alcohol is not forbidden in Quran.