SYDNEY, Australia — Australia’s most prominent Islamic cleric was threatened with deportation yesterday after he was reported to have said women who “sway suggestively” and do not cover up can provoke sexual assault by men.

In a sermon marking the end of Ramadan, Sheik Taj el-Din Al Hilali told worshippers in Sydney that women who display their bodies were like “uncovered meat.”

He said women should wear the hijab, or Islamic scarf, in public or stay out of sight at home.

“If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street or in the garden or in the park … and the cats come and eat it … whose fault is it? The cats or the uncovered meat?”

His remarks were a clear reference to the conviction of a group of Islamic teenagers who committed gang rapes in Sydney.

Moderate Muslims and politicians condemned the Egyptian-born cleric. Prime Minister Howard described Sheik Hilali’s comments as “appalling and reprehensible.”

He added: “The idea that women are to blame for rapes is preposterous.”

While claiming that his sermon had been incorrectly translated and misunderstood, Sheik Hilali promptly apologized. He condemned rape and said he respected the right of Australian women to dress as they saw fit. “I unreservedly apologize to any woman who is offended by my comments,” he said.

But the government’s sex discrimination commissioner made clear her belief that his remarks were unforgivable. A close confidant of Mr. Howard, Pru Goward, alleged that the sermon amounted to an incitement for Islamic men to rape women whom they deem immodest in their dress or behavior.

“It is an incitement to a crime,” she said. “Young Muslim men who now rape women can cite this in court. It’s time we stopped saying he should apologize. It is time the Islamic community [in Australia] did more than say they were horrified. I think it is time he left.” The apology by Sheik Hilali, 65, is also unlikely to calm fears in the wider community about the rise of radical Islamic politics in Australia.

Last December, young white Australian men and Islamic teenagers clashed violently in the Sydney suburb of Cronulla. Despite attempts to reconcile the two groups, many Australians remain deeply suspicious of Muslims.

Australia’s federal police commissioner, Mick Keelty, said yesterday that the country was at risk of raising a whole generation that harbored a suspicion of Islam.

“If we don’t get a handle on this now, then we do risk, I think, having a bigger problem in the future,” he said.

The imam of the Lakemba mosque, Sheik Hilali arrived in Australia 24 years ago. His tenure at Lakemba, home to the country’s largest community of Muslims — dominated by those of Lebanese and Pakistani origin — has been marked by scandals.

In 1999, he was arrested in Egypt for allegedly trying to smuggle antiques out of the country. He was later cleared of the charges and allowed to return to Australia. Twenty years ago, the outspoken cleric, who holds dual Australian and Egyptian nationality, was almost deported from Australia after a confrontation with police following a minor traffic infringement.

Thanks to his position at Lakemba, where his sermons attract 10,000 worshippers every week, he is often seen as the spiritual leader of Australia’s 300,000-strong Islamic community. But his tenure is far from secure. Many moderate Muslims regard him as a liability — and have been quick to join non-Muslims in condemning his most recent outburst.