The Ruling on Entering Churches and Praying in Them

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, what is the ruling on entering churches and praying in them, specifically the prescribed prayer? And is it permissible for non-Christians to enter places of worship in order to appreciate the blessing of Islam?

Answer:
Yes, it is permissible to pray in churches if their ground is pure and there are no images of the cross in them; one may pray in them if they are pure and free of crosses, because they are part of the earth, and the earth has been made a mosque and a place of purity for the Muslim. As for the temples of shirk (associating partners with Allah) and paganism, it is not permissible to pray in them. It is not permissible to pray in them. As for looking at them for the sake of information, there is nothing wrong with that, though it is better not to go to them, because they are places of evil and places of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). Yes.