Melbourne imam apologises for 2003 sermon on husbands beating wives

Melbourne imam Samir Mohtadi has apologised after a sermon from 2003 resurfaced in which he said husbands could beat wives as a last resort and questioned whether a husband could rape his wife. The comments have drawn renewed attention as Mohtadi’s MyCentre mosque faces separate allegations of links to a man accused of attempting to hijack a passenger jet.

In the sermon, Mohtadi said men should not bruise or make their wives bleed, and that a wife should respond to her husband’s sexual advances even if she was busy. He said the video was uploaded to YouTube in 2013 and had previously prompted criticism from then-prime minister Kevin Rudd in 2009. Mohtadi now says he opposes family violence and violence against women, and has apologised for his past remarks.