What is your opinion of the one who says that the regime of Saddam Hussein is an apostate Ba'athist regime that fights Islam and kills scholars, and that the People of the Book are less disbelieving than it?
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The student : Well, they have the assessment in this matter that the Ba'athist regime is an apostate.
The Shaykh : What is the matter with the Ba'ath regime?
The student : It is an apostate from Islam because it establishes a system other than the system of Islam, and it fights the Muslims, and it fights the mosques, and it killed the scholars. This is well-known and customary. And the People of the Book are less disbelieving because disbelief differs; that is, the ruling of the apostate differs from the ruling of the People of the Book.
The Shaykh : You are repeating what I said just now.
The student : No, I support this, but as for this direction, well, you say, pardon, that they are rebels. Does that mean the same ruling applies to a regime that fights Islam, adopts a methodology other than the methodology of Allah, and fights it openly in every valley, and accuses the Shari'ah of deficiency, or even of being rigid? Is this considered a rebellious regime, or is it considered an apostate or disbelieving regime?
The Shaykh : Look, my brother, I have also previously answered this. You are imagining three things: that the Ba'ath Party is disbelieving, one by one, and this is what I refuted just now.
The student : What is this refutation? Yes.
The Shaykh : You are imagining three things. The first of these things is that you imagine that the members of the Ba'ath Party, from the president to the smallest one, are disbelievers and apostates from their religion, one by one. And I, in my opinion, have proven the error of this. The second thing you imagine is that the Iraqi army, from the supreme commander to the smallest soldier, are also Ba'athists, disbelievers, and apostates, one by one. Then the third and last imagination, which includes you as it includes me, is that you imagine that every individual of the Iraqi people is a Ba'athist, a communist. Likewise, this applies to us in Syria, and it applies to you completely. So are you a communist? You are not a communist, but you are Iraqi. I am a communist? No, I am not a communist, but I am Syrian. And the Iraqi regime is a Ba'ath regime, a communist regime, or let us say an atheist regime. One might say, "No, I am not a communist, because he plays both sides, sometimes American, sometimes Soviet, and so on." So now, let us reverse the argument, because it is easier for us to understand. Is it permissible for a Muslim to say that every individual of the Iraqi people is a Ba'athist? The answer is no, is it not?
The student : Yes.
The Shaykh : Otherwise, we would be included in that.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : What is the matter with the Ba'ath regime?
The student : It is an apostate from Islam because it establishes a system other than the system of Islam, and it fights the Muslims, and it fights the mosques, and it killed the scholars. This is well-known and customary. And the People of the Book are less disbelieving because disbelief differs; that is, the ruling of the apostate differs from the ruling of the People of the Book.
The Shaykh : You are repeating what I said just now.
The student : No, I support this, but as for this direction, well, you say, pardon, that they are rebels. Does that mean the same ruling applies to a regime that fights Islam, adopts a methodology other than the methodology of Allah, and fights it openly in every valley, and accuses the Shari'ah of deficiency, or even of being rigid? Is this considered a rebellious regime, or is it considered an apostate or disbelieving regime?
The Shaykh : Look, my brother, I have also previously answered this. You are imagining three things: that the Ba'ath Party is disbelieving, one by one, and this is what I refuted just now.
The student : What is this refutation? Yes.
The Shaykh : You are imagining three things. The first of these things is that you imagine that the members of the Ba'ath Party, from the president to the smallest one, are disbelievers and apostates from their religion, one by one. And I, in my opinion, have proven the error of this. The second thing you imagine is that the Iraqi army, from the supreme commander to the smallest soldier, are also Ba'athists, disbelievers, and apostates, one by one. Then the third and last imagination, which includes you as it includes me, is that you imagine that every individual of the Iraqi people is a Ba'athist, a communist. Likewise, this applies to us in Syria, and it applies to you completely. So are you a communist? You are not a communist, but you are Iraqi. I am a communist? No, I am not a communist, but I am Syrian. And the Iraqi regime is a Ba'ath regime, a communist regime, or let us say an atheist regime. One might say, "No, I am not a communist, because he plays both sides, sometimes American, sometimes Soviet, and so on." So now, let us reverse the argument, because it is easier for us to understand. Is it permissible for a Muslim to say that every individual of the Iraqi people is a Ba'athist? The answer is no, is it not?
The student : Yes.
The Shaykh : Otherwise, we would be included in that.
The student: Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.