THE spiritual leader of Australia's Islamic community has said a police officer who arrested him on traffic charges acted in an un-Australian way.
Sheik Taj El Din Al Hilaly will face court for allegedly assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, carrying a protruding load from his vehicle and driving while unregistered and uninsured. The charges stem from a clash with an officer on a street in Wiley Park, in south-western Sydney, yesterday.
The mufti said while the officer who arrested him was doing his job, he went about it the wrong way.
"Police officer, he try to do his job but not through Australian way; I think he try the Chicago way, not Australian way," Sheik Hilaly told Channel 7.
"If it my mistake, a small mistake, but the police officer, he did a big mistake."
The mufti was stopped on King Georges Road at 11.25am (AEDT) yesterday because of a piece of metal protruding from the driver's side of the car, police said.
As the officer spoke with him, a 23-year-old male came out of a nearby apartment block and started arguing with police, a spokeswoman said.
The mufti later complained of chest pain and was taken to Canterbury Hospital, where he underwent tests before being released shortly after 8pm.
Lawyer Stephen Hopper said Sheik Hilaly would "vigorously defend" the charges and the police had overreacted.
"The police acted inappropriately over a minor traffic matter that really should have gone nowhere."
Mr Hopper said the mufti hoped the incident would not jeopardise the relationship between the Islamic community and the police.
"He's appealed for calm by members of the Islamic community and wants them to wait until the legal process has taken its course."
Sheik Hilaly was in "reasonable spirits" but was "traumatised and stressed" by the incident, Mr Hopper said.
Police said a 23-year-old Punchbowl man would be summonsed on a charge of assaulting police.
THE spiritual chief of Australia's Islamic community was arrested and handcuffed in a heated clash on a Sydney street yesterday.
In a dramatic stand-off involving 20 police and as many onlookers, Sheik Taj El Din Al Hilaly was seized -- then sparked another emergency by claiming he felt ill. He was rushed to Canterbury Hospital -- where last night he was told he would be charged on five counts.
The incident threatened to boil over into a potentially explosive clash of cultures between Sydney's Islamic community and the mostly Caucasian police force.
It began when the Sheik, aged 62, was pulled over while driving his 1991 white Ford LTD along King Georges Rd in Wiley Park.
A highway patrol officer stopped him when he noticed white metal sheeting protruding from one of the windows of his car.
When the Sheik emerged in his full robes the officer demanded that his car -- and later the Mufti -- be searched.
At this point, a local resident intervened, a 23-year-old from nearby apartments, began to argue with police, allegedly telling the officer he had no right to treat the Mufti in this fashion.
When Sheik Hilaly refused to be strip-searched on the spot, the officer suggested they ask local residents if he could be searched in their homes.
Again the Sheik refused.
The officer called for back-up, and police converged on the scene.
After a discussion, the officers then handcuffed the Islamic leader and the other man with the intention of taking them both to Burwood Police Station.
It was then that the Mufti, who underwent a triple bypass heart operation 18 months ago, reported to police that he was sweating profusely and feeling unwell.
He was taken by police to Canterbury Hospital where he is undergoing tests.
He was also treated for a sprained hand and bruising from the handcuffs.
He was later told he would be charged by summons with assaulting an officer, resisting arrest, carrying a protruding load from his vehicle and driving while unregistered and uninsured.
The other man was released and will be charged with a number of offences including assaulting police.
The Sheik's lawyer, Stephen Hopper, said Sheik Hilaly would "vigorously defend" the charges of police assault and resisting arrest.
Mr Hopper said the incident was a case of "over-zealous policing".
Three of the Sheik's children -- Mohammed, Asma and Fatima -- visited him in hospital.
Asma said her father was "very stressed".
Campsie Local Area Commander John Richardson, who has forged a strong relationship with the Islamic community, visited the Sheik at his hospital bed.
"I went to check on his welfare and to ensure he understood the process from here on in," Commander Richardson told The Daily Telegraph.
Sheik Hilaly's spokesman Keysar Trad condemned the police treatment of the Mufti but urged the Muslim community not to react to the incident.
"We don't want to allow this to undermine our great relationship with the police.
"I hope the community will remain calm."
Commander Richardson told The Daily Telegraph the incident would not change police relationship with Sydney's largest Muslim community.
"This is an isolated incident and police will not change their policing style."
