Is it permissible to remove evil by force when one is able to do so, given that we believe we are in the Meccan phase of the community in terms of patience and calling?

The questioner : Our brothers there say that we believe we are in what is called the Meccan phase, in terms of patience and calling. But they say that in Khan Younis, all the inhabitants are Muslims, and sometimes we are forced to remove evil by force. Is it permissible for us to remove an evil by force? I will give an example. There was a cinema in Khan Younis used for prostitution to spread corruption. Our brothers took control of it and bought it from its owner. The owner then called the Israeli Jewish army to protect it, but they held their ground. There were about two thousand of them.

The Shaykh : How do you say he bought it? What did he buy?

The questioner : In the beginning, they were forced to buy it. First, they wanted to close it, but then they bought the cinema.

The Shaykh : Okay, they bought it.

The questioner : They bought it, yes.

The Shaykh: Okay, that is enough.

The questioner : That is the second stage, but I am telling you what they did in the first stage.

The Shaykh : But it is not clear.

The questioner : The first stage was that they closed it by locking it. The owner got angry and called the army. They stood firm in front of the cinema, meaning they did not yield; it had to be closed. Perhaps there were maneuvers between them and the army. In my understanding, the army withdrew. Then, in the second stage, the cinema owner realized that he could not stand against them, because these people are the majority of the area and they do not want this cinema. No Arab from Khan Younis wants it.
The student : ...

The questioner : Yes, so they bought it in installments, non-interest-bearing installments, paying the owner until they bought the whole thing. Now they ask: Was this action, starting with force, in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah, or did they transgress? And apply this to many other matters. They say that sometimes people from the area, who are Muslims, come to the mosque and insult us and curse us. If we remain silent, they become more arrogant. But if we prove to them that we are strong in our religion, that we take pride in our religion, and that you want a fight, we will fight you, then they back down. So I do not know.
The student : ... removing evil by force.

The Shaykh : First, a word slipped out of your mouth that I think was not intentional, or in other words, your tongue got ahead of you. I do not think they intend the meaning of that word. I mentioned what stuck in my mind: that they consider themselves to be in the Meccan period. I said this.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Okay, they say this.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : ... they say that is us.

The questioner : They say we are close to the Meccan period.

The Shaykh : Ha, you improved a little...

The questioner : Heh, and perhaps... to you.

The Shaykh: Hehehe.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Because we hear from some people that they actually consider themselves, due to some circumstances and pressures they live under, to be in the Meccan period. This is clear misguidance, because for a Muslim to consider himself in the Meccan period means he is escaping from rulings whose obligation to perform or whose obligation to avoid is established by the scholars of Muslims. A Muslim never says this. In my opinion, what leads them to such a word, besides believing its meaning, is their feeling that they cannot, by themselves, carry out much or even a little of the religious rulings. What leads them to this is, in reality, their ignorance of Islam—this is cold, let them bring regular water—their ignorance of Islam and the Islamic scientific principles by which a Muslim is able to respond to all the circumstances he lives in without claiming that he is living in the Meccan period or something like the Meccan period.