Attacking places of worship

Q: I am a reverted Muslim from Hinduism from India. One thing is confusing me, but I am not finding any suitable person to analyse the answer properly. So, I thought to ask online to know the answer from salafi scholars.

My question is regarding the attacking of non-muslim countries and other things. As per salafi explanation I have come to know that the ruler of the country either Muslim or non-muslim cannot be attacked as a citizen of that country. And also I heard that the common non-muslim people should not be attacked both at their worshipping temple and outside worshipping places.

So first question is - when the Muslim rulers attacked India and some of them destroyed temples of Hindu people, how much it is allowed according to Islam? I mean to say, does Islam allow to attack and destroy the worshipping places and idols of the non-muslims in public places? If it is so, then how it is logical to say that non-muslim govt. should be tolerated?

My second question is - if any non-muslim country is attacked, then slaves can be got from the fight. In this present situation of today's time, how much it is justified as muslim nation to attack any non-muslim nation, capture people and make them slaves? Is it necessary to make free people slaves? Actually this question I am asking, because Islam has not stopped slavery by the process of war. We know that slavery in Islam is not because of inspiring slavery, but to remove slavery from society fully from society in a gradual way. But sometimes I have faced this question that on the context of the present world, if any non-muslim country is attacked by any muslim country, then how much it will be justified to make the non-muslim educated captured people specially women as slaves?

My last question is, does islam permit a non-muslim to build his temple in public in any islamic country?

A:

1. The information is not absolutely authentic. All places of prayer were respected. There was an exception where it was confirmed that gangsters, robbers, thieves were taking shelter in a place of prayer. Such places were then destroyed as that will pose a problem to the general public, muslim and non muslim alike.

2. Presently, there is an international agreement that no person will be taken as a slave. Muslims are respecting it, and there are non Muslims who practise this slavery through different pretexts. Someone is enslaved through economic slavery, and others by other means.

3. These types of situations were always there and we did not find any Islamic ruler objecting as long as the peace was not being violated.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

 

Answered by:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)