Former grand mufti of Australia Sheikh Taj El-Din Hilali has been described as a beacon of light at a time of division after his death aged 82.
A controversial figure during the mid-2000s when he publicly sparred with then-prime minister John Howard over the "War on Terror", the dual citizen died in Egypt on Thursday, Australian time.
The Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA) said Sheikh Hilali carried the weight of the Australian Muslim community on his "very broad shoulders and his even bigger heart" as he took up the fight to protect Islamic rights locally.
"Although residing in Egypt at the time of his passing, Sheikh Taj maintained close links with the Muslim community in Australia who loved and admired him so much and he remained a frequent and welcome visitor to Sydney," the association said in a statement.
Sheikh Hilali served 31 years as the imam of Lakemba Mosque, in southwest Sydney, and served more than two decades as grand mufti, a Sunni title, until 2007.
"The LMA and Lakemba Mosque will forever be indebted to you for your invaluable service and commitment to Islam in Australia," the association said.
"You were the beacon of light when our Ummah (community) was fractured."
During his time as the country's most senior Muslim leader, he condemned radical Islamic leaders in Australia, going as far as accusing some local clerics of following in the footsteps of Osama Bin Laden.
He was also a vocal critic of Australia's participation in the Iraq War and expressed concern Muslims believed the so-called war on terrorism was actually a war against Islam by the West.
A Ramadan sermon in 2006 drew widespread condemnation after Sheikh Hilali compared lightly-dressed women who were sexually assaulted to "exposed meat" and "the problem".
"If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred," he said at the time.
Sheikh Hilali later explained the message was for Muslim audience and the term "exposed meat" was not appropriate for the Western mentality, adding that men were responsible for their crimes.
The Australian National Imams Council later sacked him as grand mufti and abolished the title of mufti in favour of a panel of community leaders.
He was also jailed in 1999 by Egyptian authorities for smuggling antiquities to Australia, a charge he denied.
In 2007, Mr Howard said Sheikh Hilali had "delivered appalling leadership to the Muslim community in Australia" as a constant critic of attempts to combat terrorism.
"I'm not the least bit surprised that Sheikh Hilali should be a critic of mine, I'm quite a critic of his when it comes to his leadership of the Muslim community," he said.
Sheikh Hilali was declared grand mufti a second time in 2018 by a rogue Queensland mosque, a title not widely recognised.
