Church Building in Islam
This is a grey matter which also involves two contexts: leadership and the region (secular region). I have listened to our sheiks, Sheikh Anas, Sheikh Yusufia, Sheikh Yusuf of Asebe, Sheikh Armiyyaw, Sheikh Ridwan, etc. I believe our leadership has Islam at heart and will not do anything to downgrade the effort of Islam or to bring Islam into disrepute.
I never wanted to comment on this issue because it involves leadership, as the Quran admonished us in surah Nisa verse 83.
وَإِذَا جَآءَهُمْ أَمْرٌ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْنِ أَوِ ٱلْخَوْفِ أَذَاعُواْ بِهِۦ ۖ وَلَوْ رَدُّوهُ إِلَى ٱلرَّسُولِ وَإِلَىٰٓ أُوْلِى ٱلْأَمْرِ مِنْهُمْ لَعَلِمَهُ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْتَنۢبِطُونَهُۥ مِنْهُمْ ۗ وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُۥ لَٱتَّبَعْتُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا
“And when there comes to them a command (i.e., the matter, the affair) of security or fear, they divulge it; and if they had referred it to the Messenger and to the ones endowed with the command (i.e., those in authority) among them, the ones among them who investigate would indeed know it. And had it not been for the Grace of Allah upon you and His mercy, you would indeed have closely followed Ash-Shaytan, (the all-vicious, i.e., the Devil) except a few.”
I have taken my time to listen and read both arguments made and this is what I have gathered so far.
It is Forbidden
There is a verse in the Quran mentioned by this group in defense of their fatwa.
In Surah Maidah verse 2: Allah says
“O you who believe, do not violate (the sanctity) of the Marks of Allah, nor of the sacred month, nor of the sacrificial animal, nor of the garlands, 6 nor of those proceeding to the Sacred House, seeking the grace of their Lord and (His) Pleasure. When you are out of IHrām, you may hunt. Malice against a people for having prevented you from Al-Masjid-ul-Harām, should not cause you to cross the limits. Help each other in righteousness and piety, and do not help each other in sin and aggression. Fear Allah. Surely, Allah is severe at punishment.”
For this verse to achieve its purpose in this argument, one needs to prove beyond reasonable doubt that it is a sin to build or contribute to a church.
Evidence
They are of the view that church is a place where the trinity is pronounced and this is tantamount to shirk. Building, Contributing, or working in such places is not allowed.
Sayyiduna Umar, May Almighty Allah be pleased with him said to the Christians of Sham, that they should not build new churches in an Islamic country
It is also reported by Umar bin Abdul Aziz who ordered that no church new or old should be left standing in an Islamic country. This is supported by Hasanul Basari
Subki is reported to have said, the building of a church is forbidden by ijma. It also includes renovations.
Bun Baaz also said the building of churches is haram in an Islamic country by ijma
Fataawa Lajna Daayima made a fatwa that scholars have agreed that it is forbidden to build a place of worship for the kuffar such as a church in an Islamic country because you cannot have two qibla in an Islamic state. They have also agreed that new churches should be demolished.
This opinion is supported by Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya.
It is Permissible
This group quotes surah Mumtahina verse 8:
“Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes — from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.”
Again for this verse to achieve its purpose, one needs to prove beyond reasonable doubt that it is permissible.
Evidence
According to this group, Christians are not Mushrikoon, Christians and Jews are referred to as Ahl al-Kitab, People of the Book, and have been defined in the Qur’an as those to whom divine revelations have been given prior to the advent of Islam. The Qur’an, by referring to them as Ahl al-Kitab, indicates that they possess divine scriptures just as Muslims do, Allah says in Quran, surah Bayyinah,
“Those who disbelieved from among the People of the Book and the polytheists were not (expected) to desist (from their wrong beliefs) unless there comes to them a clear proof.”
“. . . and nearest among them in love to the believers will you find those who say, ‘We are Christians,’ because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant” (5:82).
Daar Alifta and Azhar institute issued a fatwa that there is no evidence in the Quran or Hadith that encourages the demolishing of churches, rising violence against them, or forbidding the building of new ones. They also issued a fatwa allowing Muslims to work in churches.
The previous Sheikh Ul Azhar Institute Sheikh Shaltout said, the ijma claim by Subki does not represent the Muslim umma and he calls it Partial Consensus and that it can easily be refuted just by knowing that Imam Abu Haneefa and Laith bun Saad did not only allowed the building of church but rather permitted it. This is why this opinion is taken by Imam Abu Abdul Rahman bin Abdullahi bin Lahiha, Imam Mohammed bin Qassim, a student of Imam Malik, and the Scholars of Azhar.
Umar bin Khattab May Allah be pleased with him to the people of Qudus, to paraphrase it “I the servant of Allah, Umar, the leader of the believers, this is my promise to you, that no harm shall come to yourselves, your wealth, your churches and no one shall occupy nor destroy your churches…”,
Khalid bin Waleed to the people of Haanat, you can ring your bells at any time in the evening except in times of salat, and you can bring out your crosses in your festivals.
According to Qardawi in his famous book غير المسلمين في المجتمع الإسلامي, there are scholars who have even permitted the building of churches in an Islamic state and even in states that were opened by Muslims, among the scholars are Zaidiyyah and Imam bin Qasim from Maliki school of thought. He also added that it appears that this can be traced in Islamic history, Abd al-Aziz bin Marwan permitted his Melkite servants to establish a small church in Helwan dedicated to Saint George. One of the governor’s Jacobite secretaries, Athanasios, was also allowed the construction of a church in close proximity to the Babylon Fortress (Qasr al-Sham) in the vicinity of Fustat. Abd al-Aziz bin Marwan constructed in Hulwan a mosque and a church.
Under the leadership of Maslama bin Mukhallad, the first church was built in Fustat around the Roman Fortress and there are many examples that can be found in the book (Khitat).
So it is clear that churches were built before, during, and after the advent of Islam. Qardawi approves of the building of churches for Christian citizens in Muslim countries to meet their needs.
Ahmad Shahin, a researcher of Islamic jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University, said that it is a false claim to say that the Salafist scholars unanimously banned Muslims from working in churches. He explained that Imam Malik ibn Anas did not issue a fatwa in this regard, while Imam Abu Hanifa permitted that, even though some of his followers disagreed with him. Work in churches was also permitted by some Hanbalis (followers of Ahmad ibn Hanbal), such as Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, in his explanation of Sahih al-Bukhari (The Authentic Collection), and some of Shafi’i’s followers, such as Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi.
Shahin said it is false to assume that building churches is a sin that Muslims should not be engaged in and this assumption “is contrary to true religion,” he said. He added, “If the presence of churches was a sin, neither the Prophet Muhammad nor Umar [the second Muslim caliph who ruled after the Prophet Muhammad’s death] would have pledged to protect the churches in the Ashtiname of Muhammad and Umar’s Assurance. It is impossible for the prophet and Umar to protect a sin.”. The Ashtiname of Prophet Mohammed (SAW), also known as the Covenant or Testament, is a charter ratified by The Messenger of Allah (SAW) granting protection and other privileges to the followers of Jesus the Nazarene. It was given to the Christian monks of Saint Catherine’s Monastery. It is sealed with an imprint representing Prophet Mohammed’s (SAW) hand.
Imam Abu Haneefa is reported to have permitted the building of a church in a village in Kufa for its people because a lot of them are Christians. He is also reported to have permitted a Muslim to work in a church even though some of his students disagreed. This opinion is picked by the Late Mohamed Sayed Tantawy, former Al-Azhar Grand Imam and Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Allam.
Saad bun laith connotes that rising up in violence against churches is akin to rising up in violence against masajid of Allah. Allah said in the Quran, surah Baqarah 114:
وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن مَّنَعَ مَسَٰجِدَ ٱللَّهِ أَن يُذْكَرَ فِيهَا ٱسْمُهُۥ وَسَعَىٰ فِى خَرَابِهَآ ۚ أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ مَا كَانَ لَهُمْ أَن يَدْخُلُوهَآ إِلَّا خَآئِفِينَ ۚ لَهُمْ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا خِزْىٌ وَلَهُمْ فِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
“And who is more unjust than he who prevents (men) from the mosques (masjids) of Allah, that His Name should be remembered in them, and strives to ruin (destroy) them? (As for these) it was not proper for them that they should have entered them except in fear, for them there is a disgrace in this world, and for them, there is a great torment (the greatest of the torment) in the Hereafter.”
This verse was to the people of makkah(idol worshippers). Masjid refers to the place of worship in general and not specific to Muslims only. As it was stated by the prophet that Jews have taken the graves of their prophets as masjid: ((كانت بنو إسرائيل اتخذوا قبور أنبيائهم مساجد فلعنهم الله تعالى))
Churches needs to be protected as Allah says in the Quran in surah Hajj verse 40
الَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا مِن دِيَارِهِم بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ إِلَّا أَن يَقُولُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ۗ وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ اللَّهِ النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُم بِبَعْضٍ لَّهُدِّمَتْ صَوَامِعُ وَبِيَعٌ وَصَلَوَاتٌ وَمَسَاجِدُ يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا اسْمُ اللَّهِ كَثِيرًا ۗ وَلَيَنصُرَنَّ اللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَقَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ
“They have been expelled from their homes unjustly only because they said: “Our Lord is Allah”. And if there had not been Allah’s repelling of some people by others, monasteries (of priests), churches (of Christians), synagogues (of Jews), and Masjids (of Muslims) in which Allah’s Name is often mentioned (remembered) would surely have been ruined and demolished. Allah surely helps those who help Him. Truly, Allah is All-Strong, All–Mighty.”
References
غير المسلمين في المجتمع الإسلامي
Durr al-Mukhtar (Al-haskafi)
Al- Monitor
حكم بناء الكنائس والمعابد الشركية في بلاد المسلمين
