Are people of other faith forbidden to build their Temple/Church in Mecca and Madina?

[fatima abdallah]

Asalam Aleikoum brothers and sisters, I am writing to you because one of my friend asked this question

I've often wondered why Hindu's, Sikhs, Jews or Christians are not permitted to build their places of worship in the cities of Mecca and Medina. As far as i'm aware, it is these two places that are the hub of Islam (the drivers of the religion and not the driven) If any sound examples of multi-faith tolerance are to be shed, then surely they should come from there first. (Comprehend ??) Can someone answer this without bringing citizenship into the equation ?

I am Muslim but I do not have enough knowledge to answer this alone and I would not like to reply false thing, so if anyone could help me I will be thankful

May Allah bless you all for your hardwork

 

[Predator]

Non-Muslims are not allowed in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, by law. The following points will serve to elucidate the possible reasoning behind such a restriction.

1. All citizens are not permitted in the cantonment area

In every country there are certain areas where a common citizen of that country cannot enter. Only a citizen who is enrolled in the military or those who are connected with the defence of the country are allowed in the cantonment area. Similarly Islam is a Universal Religion for the entire world and for all human beings. The cantonment areas of Islam are the two holy cites of Makkah and Madinah. Here only those who believe in Islam and are involved in the defence of Islam i.e. the Muslims are allowed.
It would be illogical for a common citizen to object against the restriction on
entering a cantonment area. Similarly it is not appropriate for non-Muslims to
object against the restriction on non-Muslims against entering Makkah and
Madinah.

2. Visa to enter Makkah and Madinah

a. Whenever a person travels to a foreign country he has to first apply for a visa i.e. the permission to enter that country. Every country has its own
rules, regulations and requirements for issuing a visa. Unless their critera are satisfied they will not issue a visa.

b. One of the countries which is very strict in issuing a visa is the United States of America, especially when issuing visas to citizens of the third world. They have several conditions and requirements to be fulfilled before they issue a visa.

c. When I visited Singapore, it was mentioned on their immigration form - death to drug traffickers. If I want to visit Singapore I have to abide by the
rules. I cannot say that death penalty is a barbaric punishment. Only if I agree with their requirements and conditions will I be permitted to enter the country.

d. The Visa – The primary condition required for any human being to enter Makkah or Madina is to say with his lips, La ila ha illallah Muhammed ur Rasulullah meaning that ‘there is no God but Allah and Muhammed (pbuh) is His Messenger.’

 

[Supreme]

I see little reason why non-Muslims should be allowed to have holy places in Mecca and Medina, and even less reason why non-Muslims would want to construct holy places in the cities in the first place.

 

[CosmicPathos]

fatima abdullah: the person who asked you that question seems to be very cunning yet naive. At least from his/her English writing skills. The way they wrote "comprehend" seems as if they are writing from some high pedestal from within their brain.

 

[Predator]

lol,I just realised i still didnt answer did the question yet. I just spoke about why non-muslims were not allowed in mecca and madina .
So , why cant non-muslims build their places of worship and propagate their religion there ?

Here is an analogy

Suppose , you are a principal of a school and you intend to select a Maths teacher

3 candidates come and you ask them what will be the total of 2+2 ? One says 4 , other says 3 and third says 6.

So would you hire the teachers who said 3 or 6 ?

You would say , No

I ask why ? You would say they dont have the right knowledge of maths

Similarly as far as matter of religion are concerned , we Muslims know for sure that only Islam is the true religion in the sight of god


Islam is the only faith accepted by God and he will never accept any religion other than Islam

"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah) never will It be accepted of Him" (Soorah Al imraan 3:85)

"This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion". (Soorah Al-Maaidah 5:3)

Therefore we know that islam is the only true religion and we thus do not allow propagation of any other religion.And The non-muslims are not sure about their own religion either and thats why they are allowing propagation of other religions. If they were sure ,then they would not allow propagation.Thus we are trying to get them to the right path and we propagate our religion to the non-muslim

However if a Non-Muslim wants to practice his religion , he can do so inside his home but he cant propagate his religion. It is exactly as if a teacher thinks in his mind 2+2=3 he has the right to do but we would not allow such a person to teach this to our children.

Non-Muslims are no doubt expert in science and technology and they can teach us that and we will learn from them . But in matters of religion ,we muslims are experts

 

[- Qatada -]

:salamext:



If people can't build churches in Arabia, well Muslims can't build Mosques in the Vatican!

yeah the vatican [which is also a country].

 

[Muslim Woman]

Salaam

even if Muslims will be allowed to built mosques in Vatican , still there is no scope for non-Muslims to enter holy kaaba or built their worship place inside the kaaba premises. Because this holy place is only for Muslims according to holy Quran.

Bible does not say that Vatican is a holy city ; so we must not compare Vatican to Macca .

But I am not sure about Madina. During the time of the last Prophet pbuh , Jews and Christians used to visit him there . Also , there is no bar in Quran against non-Muslim's visiting Madina . Most probably , for security reason , Saudi Govt. has a bar on non-Muslims there.

And Allah knows Best.

 

[Roasted Cashew]

:salamext:
If people can't build churches in Arabia, well Muslims can't build Mosques in the Vatican!

yeah the vatican [which is also a country].

I think the fact that there aren't any Muslims in the Vatican is the reason why there are no Mosques there. I am not aware of any law which forbids the buildings of mosques in the Vatican. Besides, even all the churches belong to the Catholic denomination if I am not mistaken. This also due to the fact that all the residents of the Vatican are Catholics.

Anyway, I think we Muslims should use this same argument when we get a question like "Why aren't there any churches in Mecca?" Since Saudi Arabia doesn't allow non-Muslims in Mecca who would worship in them if any are built. But I can't think of any argument if the question is much broader as to "Why aren't there any churches in Saudi Arabia?" But you can always point out to the brighter side. There are suggestions that there are negotiations going on between the Vatican and Saudi Arabia for the first ever church in the Muslim state.

 

[manaal]

"Why aren't there any churches in Saudi Arabia?"

KSA is a theocracy. It's laws are based on the religion of Islam. So it is only logical that they do not allow the propagation of nay other religion other than Islam. Also all masjids in KSA, to the best of my knowledge are Sunni. I don;t think shia' masjids are allowed here.

But you can always point out to the brighter side. There are suggestions that there are negotiations going on between the Vatican and Saudi Arabia for the first ever church in the Muslim state.

No, I don't think a Muslim can call this the "brighter side". But it would prove one thing... one of the major signs of the Day of Judgment is the return on idol worship to Arabia. Some say it has already come as many Arabs just worship USA. But if a Catholic church is built it would be happening in a literal sense. Scary.

 

[Roasted Cashew]

KSA is a theocracy. It's laws are based on the religion of Islam. So it is only logical that they do not allow the propagation of nay other religion other than Islam.

Well, you might wanna read Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) letter to the Christians. In 628 C.E. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) granted a Charter of Privileges to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt.Sinai. He (pbuh) also wrote a letter to to the Assyrian Christians. http://mirnazim.wordpress.com/2006/10/22/prophet-muhammads-letter-to-christians/ http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/charter1.html

And let me quote a few lines below:
"This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.
Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them."
"Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).”
“If the Nazarenes wish to build a church, their Muslim neighbors shall help them. This shall be done, because the Christians have obeyed us and have come to us and pleaded for peace and mercy."

No, I don't think a Muslim can call this the "brighter side". But it would prove one thing... one of the major signs of the Day of Judgment is the return on idol worship to Arabia. Some say it has already come as many Arabs just worship USA. But if a Catholic church is built it would be happening in a literal sense. Scary.

You need to understand the Qur'an differentiates between Pagans(idol worshipers) and Christians & Jews which it refers to as the People of the Book. So, I think we should too.

 

[Roasted Cashew]

KSA is a theocracy. It's laws are based on the religion of Islam. So it is only logical that they do not allow the propagation of nay other religion other than Islam.

Well, you might wanna read Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) letter to the Christians. In 628 C.E. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) granted a Charter of Privileges to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt.Sinai. He (pbuh) also wrote a letter to to the Assyrian Christians.
http://mirnazim.wordpress.com/2006/10/22/prophet-muhammads-letter-to-christians/
http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/charter1.html

And let me quote a few lines below:
"This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.
Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them."
"Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).”
“If the Nazarenes wish to build a church, their Muslim neighbors shall help them. This shall be done, because the Christians have obeyed us and have come to us and pleaded for peace and mercy."

No, I don't think a Muslim can call this the "brighter side". But it would prove one thing... one of the major signs of the Day of Judgment is the return on idol worship to Arabia. Some say it has already come as many Arabs just worship USA. But if a Catholic church is built it would be happening in a literal sense. Scary.

You need to understand the Qur'an differentiates between Pagans(idol worshipers) and Christians & Jews which it refers to as the People of the Book. So, I think we should too.

 

[Ramadhan]

Well, you might wanna read Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) letter to the Christians. In 628 C.E. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) granted a Charter of Privileges to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt.Sinai. He (pbuh) also wrote a letter to to the Assyrian Christians.
http://mirnazim.wordpress.com/2006/1...to-christians/
http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/charter1.html

You need to understand the Qur'an differentiates between Pagans(idol worshipers) and Christians & Jews which it refers to as the People of the Book. So, I think we should too.

Are the nasranis/nasaras (the qur'an didn't use the word christians) the same as the catholics today?
I thought the nasaras during the time of the Prophet SAW used the gospel of nazarenes, and did not use the the bibles that current christians use.

Also, did the nasaras back then also worship jesus pbuh and created and put the statues of him and maryam pbuh in their churches to pray to (just like what the catholics are doing today)?

 

[Alpha Dude]

I have come across that letter a few times now.

I would like to know its authenticity according to our ulema and the bearing it would have in determining our Islamic judgements (if genuine).

Also, did the nasaras back then also worship jesus pbuh and created and put the statues of him and maryam pbuh in their churches to pray to (just like what the catholics are doing today)?

I think the Trinity believing Christians of today are not considered people of the book.

 

[Insaanah]

I think the Trinity believing Christians of today are not considered people of the book.

Allah has addressed trinitarian Christians as people of the book, as in this verse where He tells them not to say "three":

"O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, "Three"; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs." (4:171)

 

[Alpha Dude]

Wa alaykum salam,

Thanks.

If such a church were to be promoted and built by muslims then there is no guarantee that shirk would not happen because the Christians of today evidently do not stop themselves from ascribing partners with Allah. Why would any Muslim take the risk of allowing non-muslims to do shirk upon themselves?

 

[Insaanah]

I would like to know its authenticity according to our ulema and the bearing it would have in determining our Islamic judgements (if genuine).

I agree.

If such a church were to be promoted and built by muslims then there is no guarantee that shirk would not happen because the Christians of today evidently do not stop themselves from ascribing partners with Allah. Why would any Muslim take the risk of allowing non-muslims to do shirk upon themselves?

Good point.

 

[manaal]

Allah has addressed trinitarian Christians as people of the book, as in this verse where He tells them not to say "three":

"O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, "Three"; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs." (4:171)

Catholics worship more than just the Trinity. Anyone who has been among catholics would realise how much faith they have in "saints". Their churches are dedicated to saints, they erect statues of these saints and worship them along with the Trinity. They believe that these saints can intercede on behalf of them. They dedicate "novenas" to various saints of they want some divine favour granted.

For example:

"O wonderful St. Anthony, glorious on account of the fame of your miracles, and through the condescension of Jesus in coming in the form of a little child to rest in your arms, obtain for me of His bounty the grace which I ardently desire from the depths of my heart . (State your intention)
You who were so compassionate toward miserable sinners, regard not the unworthiness of those who pray to you, but the glory of God that it may once again be magnified by the granting of the particular request (State your intention) which I now ask for with persevering earnestness. Amen

Saint Anthony, pray for us!

Catholics are clearly not the Nasara mentioned in the Qur'an. This is modern day paganism if you ask me.