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Friday, May 03, 2013

Dear Imam: Help! My husband treats Jews and Christians with respect!

An Arab Israeli woman wrote a letter to the fatwa department of Islamweb yesterday, asking advice.

Her husband likes to befriend Christians, Jews and Druze, and bring them into the house. He also wants to teach his children about the differences between Islam and other beliefs, and for them to offer greetings to Christians and Jews on their holidays. Other things he does are even worse, like drinking alcohol with his non-Muslim friends and making fun of Islamists. She is afraid his actions will corrupt the children. What can she do?

The answer refers to many other previous fatwas from the site:

  • Christians and Jews cannot be considered believers. They are infidels, in every sense. 
  • It is forbidden to greet them on their festivals (i.e., to say Merry Christmas.) If you ask, but they greet us during our festivals - shouldn't we reciprocate to show that Islam is tolerant? The answer is simple: Islam is the correct religion, they are kuffars, and tolerance does not extend that far. 
  • Mocking Islamists or other Muslim religious leaders is a great sin. It is kufr even if it was only meant to be a joke.
  • It is better not to hire non-Muslims as employees, or to give charity to non-Muslims, and certainly not if you are at war with them. However, inviting the peaceful ones to partake in Ramadan breakfasts is OK because then you are showing them how wonderful Islam is and you might convert them. 
  • Serving alcohol to non-believers is also forbidden even if you do not drink it yourself.
  • Even though he is your husband and you must obey him, it is forbidden to obey him in these matters.
  • If your husband does not repent, then you must ask him for a divorce and take full custody of the children.
And Allah knows best.

(UPDATE: It should be mentioned that some prominent clerics in Egypt also forbade greeting non-Muslims on their holidays, and they came under attack by many other Egyptians, including officials and other clerics.)