An Australian imam was attacked on live TV with a shoe after defending Muslim women who choose not to wear burkas.
Mostafa Rashid was appearing on Egypt’s LTC TV during a discussion about the burka in the modern Islamic world on Monday, when he was attacked by Egyptian lawyer Nabih al-Wahsh.
Rashid had claimed the headscarf is a cultural tradition rather than a religious duty, 9News reported.
![Egyptian lawyer Nabih al-Wahsh attacks Australian imam Mostafa Rashid with his shoe during a live broadcast in Egypt](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/57f3c84c170000f70aac9577.png?cache=XlXei8v9pp&ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
After abusing Rashid, al-Wahsh then took off his right shoe and tried to beat the Sydney imam with it.
Rashid – who was originally from Egypt – is then seen trying to defend himself by kicking at Al-Wahsh as members of the production team rush on set to split the pair up.
![Mostafa Rashid defending Muslim women who chose not to wear burkas](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/57f3caad1b0000c313ef46a0.png?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
After the confrontation ended Rashid was said to have rushed out of the studio, the Middle East Eye reported.
Presenter Mohammed al-Ghaiti apologised to viewers for the on-air altercation.
The Mirror quoted him as saying: “It was a free fight in the middle of the studio. I never expected that something like this could happen on air.”