exterior-from-above-c-torie-pChurch of the Holy Sepulchre, Jurusalem

In 638, the Christians were forced to surrender Jerusalem to Muslim control under caliph Umar al-Khattab. In a remarkable gesture for the time, Sophronius invited Umar to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but Umar refused the invitation, saying, “If I had prayed in the church it would have been lost to you, for the Believers [Muslims] would have taken it saying: Umar prayed here.” In other words, Umar declined the offer, fearing that accepting the invitation might endanger the church’s status as a Christian place of worship: The Muslims might break the treaty and turn the church into a mosque. Such was the respect that caliph Umar showed towards the place of worship of other religion. Today, we witness attacks on churches by Muslims in our home country. These irresponsible acts are in complete contradiction with the great spirit shown by the rightly-guided caliph Umar.

Furthermore, Umar also made it clear that the religious freedom of the citizens of Ilya (Jerusalem) and the sanctity of their synagogues and places of worship were confirmed: “This is the protection which the slave-servant of Allah, Umar, the Commander of the Believers, extends to the people of Ilya: The safeguarding of their lives, properties, churches, crosses, and of their entire community. Their churches cannot be occupied, demolished, or damaged, nor are their crosses or anything belonging to them to be touched. They will never be forced to abandon their religion, nor will they be oppressed.” (At-Tabari, Tarikh, Vol III, p. 609, ed. Dar Al-Ma`arif, Egypt.)

It is also stated in the Qur’an that Islam protects the places of worship of non-Muslims, and allows them to observe their religious ceremonies: To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged;- and verily, Allah is most powerful for their aid; (They are) those who have been expelled from their homes unjustly only because they said: “Our Lord is Allâh.” – For had it not been that Allah checks one set of people by means of another, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, wherein the Name of Allâh is mentioned much would surely have been pulled down. Verily, Allah will help those who help His (Cause). Truly, Allâh is All-Strong, All-Mighty.(Al-Hajj 22: 39-40)

In light of these evidences, Usrah Toronto condemns the attacks on churches done by those irresponsible people and calls upon Muslims from all around the world to embody the true spirit of Islam – one that respects the rights of other religions and the sanctity of their places of worship.

For further reading:-

1) Shaikh Yusuf Qaradhawi’s fatwa regarding protection of non-muslims’ places of worship: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?cid=1119503544972&pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar%2FFatwaE%2FFatwaEAskTheScholar

2) Dr Mohd Asri’s statement condemning the attacks on churches at Malaysia: http://drmaza.com/home/?p=953

3) Dr Mohd Asri’s proposed guideline regarding the ruling of using the name of Allah by non-muslims: http://drmaza.com/home/?p=931