The Shaykh’s response to those who say that disbelieving states grant freedom to da'is to spread Islam.

The questioner : Based on the reality of the Sunnis in Iran, the Sunnis, as statistics indicate, are about thirty-three percent, and you see their rights are lost, meaning they have no weight on the political level at all. Meanwhile, if we look at the Muslim minority in America and in Belgium, they have rights and can call to Islam with complete freedom. How do we reconcile between ... .

The Shaykh : This is a mistake, my brother, may Allah reward you. This is a mistake. The comparison and contrast is wrong. The Americans and the British, by virtue of the fact that their religion, if they have a religion, calls, as you know, for the separation of politics and religion, right or not?

The questioner : Separating religion from the state, you mean? Yes, correct.

The Shaykh : This is well known. So, therefore, they give Muslims their freedom as long as they do not enter into politics. You worship your Lord who created you, you worship the idol, the cow, they do not ask about you. But as the Syrian proverb says, "Do not come near my pocket." Do you think that it is possible for the Muslims who are given the freedom you mentioned, also the freedom of da'wah and civil rights, and so on, do you think that these people can declare that the call of Islam rules, that the rule belongs to the Muslims and not to the disbelievers?

The questioner : In the future, I don't know, but I am speaking about the present time.

The Shaykh : No, no, I am speaking about the present time.

The questioner : Even prisons are opened in the United States of America for the Tablighi Jamaat. They tell them, "Welcome, call to Allah." This is a clear reality. But you, sir, when you go to America, you do not think about whether I am with the alliance or not, but as a reality.

The Shaykh : Far be it from Allah, I am with you.

The questioner : I mean, nowThe Shaykh : Nasser, if he goes to America, he can call on television, on the radio, even in the street, in prison, with complete freedom. But is it permissible for you, if you went to the Ba'ath in Syria, to be able to take your freedom at all?

The Shaykh : Listen, may Allah reward you, you are exaggerating in your perception of this freedom. Have you been informed that in Saudi Arabia, which has not yet become American, a secret decision was issued and sent to some preachers that it is not permissible to mention the Jews on your minbars in a bad way? Have you been informed of anything?

The questioner : I have been informed. I am not surprised regarding Saudi Arabia. Your words are correct and a reality.

The Shaykh : Allow me. If the matter is so, you are giving an example regarding me. If I entered the prison, a Tablighi da'i is not a caller to Islam as you imagine, or as others imagine. He calls to an Islam that is most like Christian Islam, meaning the separation of religion from the state. The Tablighi Jamaat separates religion from the state. Therefore, they are open and do not touch at all the issues of disagreement existing among Muslims. What are the commandments in the Gospel? The Ten Commandments. They sing around these issues: do not commit zina, do not steal, and so on. But "La ilaha illa Allah," the origin of Islam, the foundation without which nothing benefits, they do not touch its explanation and detailed discussion. Do you think that the da'i withholds something from the Noble Qur'an? You will say, "No, obviously." So, if the da'i, like me, entered the prison here, as you say, and an occasion arose and I recited the saying of Allah the Exalted and repeated it in the ears of the Christian and Jewish prisoners, and there might be open sinners among the Muslims, and so on. Do you think that the freedom will continue? "Do not come near my pocket." So, there is freedom only regarding what concerns you personally, but as for what concerns the state, they do not allow this. Then, have you been informed, on the occasion of the fitnah in Iraq, and before the signs of the victory of the allies over Iraq appeared, that they began ... with some Muslims in America and elsewhere, because the Arabs may not have been informed of anything of this. They started entering their mosques and beating them. And by phone, I called them repeatedly. Therefore, do not be deceived by these appearances, because these appearances are part of their politics. But when the matter reaches what touches their rule, this is it. What do you want? What brought them to the Gulf? Here, when the matter reaches what touches their interests, nothing stops them. They have no dhimmah. Allah is the Helper, other than Him.