The president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, Keysar Trad, has defended comments he made in an interview with conservative news presenter Andrew Bolt.
WATCH: Islamic community leader @keysartrad says beating women is 'a last resort'. Live on #TheBoltReport on… https://t.co/gxiuloJpFD
Bolt asked Trad to justify a section of the Qur'an that says it is "permissible" for a husband to beat his wife "light with his hands".
"Violence is a last resort," Trad said.
"Before you even consider using your hand, before you consider any act of violence, have you checked box number one, which is counselling? Have you checked box number two?
“Maybe next time you should bring her a bunch of flowers, maybe next time you should bring her a box of chocolates, maybe next time you should take her out to dinner."
"It was an unfortunate choice of words but what I did say clearly is that it is a last resort that you should never get to," Trad told BuzzFeed News on Thursday morning.
If Muslims wanted to "follow examples of the prophet", then they would not "perpetrate violence against their partners", he said.
"If a woman approached me to say her husband used violence, the first thing I would say is, 'Have you reported it to the police?'"
Problems in a marriage should be resolved through "communication", he said.
"There are verses in the Qur'an that say to never hit your wife."
Trad said he was referring to a section of the Hadith, a different Islamic scripture, which says: "Approach your tilth when or how you will, give [your wife] food when you take food, clothe when you clothe yourself, do not revile her face, and do not beat her."