http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4636560/Muslim-girls-9-wear-white-Sydney-hijab-ceremony.html#ixzz4lDR
Muslim girls in Sydney are dressed in white from head to toe as part of a hijab ceremony to signify the age when they must cover up their bodies, with an Islamic imam slamming it as a step toward Sharia law.
Australia's most senior Shia cleric Sheikh Kamal Mousselmani presided over the ceremony where 24 girls walked on stage to show their maturity.
'The hijab is compulsory for the girls when they become nine according to our religion,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
Girls aged nine are dressed up in white hijabs to symbolise maturity at a Sydney ceremony
Australia's most senior Shia cleric speaks at the hijab ceremony for nine-year-old girls
Australia's most senior Shia cleric Sheikh Kamal Mousselmani presided over hijab cerremony
The girls were dressed in white, the same shade as a wedding dress, however Sheikh Mousselmani denied the ceremony was about preparing girls for marriage, despite Islamic law saying girls reach maturity at the age of eight.
'You want me to tell you that it was a marriage ceremony. Definitely not,' he said.
- Muslim girls aged nine were dressed in white as part of a Sydney hijab ceremony
- Australia's most senior Shia cleric Sheikh Kamal Mousselmani presided over it
- He said the hijab is compulsory for girls when they turn nine under Islamic law
- Adelaide Shia Imam Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi said it amounted to Sharia law
Muslim girls in Sydney are dressed in white from head to toe as part of a hijab ceremony to signify the age when they must cover up their bodies, with an Islamic imam slamming it as a step toward Sharia law.
Australia's most senior Shia cleric Sheikh Kamal Mousselmani presided over the ceremony where 24 girls walked on stage to show their maturity.
'The hijab is compulsory for the girls when they become nine according to our religion,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
Girls aged nine are dressed up in white hijabs to symbolise maturity at a Sydney ceremony
Australia's most senior Shia cleric speaks at the hijab ceremony for nine-year-old girls
Australia's most senior Shia cleric Sheikh Kamal Mousselmani presided over hijab cerremony
The girls were dressed in white, the same shade as a wedding dress, however Sheikh Mousselmani denied the ceremony was about preparing girls for marriage, despite Islamic law saying girls reach maturity at the age of eight.
'You want me to tell you that it was a marriage ceremony. Definitely not,' he said.