The Shaykh recounts a debate that took place between him and a Lebanese Maronite priest regarding the reasons for Muslims declaring Ataturk a disbeliever

The Shaykh : Perhaps it is fitting to mention on this occasion a story that happened between me and a Lebanese Maronite priest.
The student- Peace be upon you.

The Shaykh- And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah. Once, a journey from Damascus to Mada'a brought me together with him in a trip with some young men on a train. When the train left the Hijaz station, it stopped shortly after at al-Baramekah. Do you know al-Baramekah, Doctor? Or do you not know Damascus well? This area is not far from the train's starting point, which is the Hijaz station, only a very short distance, in order to pick up passengers. When the train stopped, some people got on. One of the young men who were with me came to me, whispered in my ear, and said to me, "A Maronite priest just got on." I understood what he meant; his demeanor was saying, "Deal with him." I asked where he had entered, and they told me he was in another room. I was actually sitting in this corner. When I went in to see him, I found him sitting there. I did not think it wise to sit facing him for fear that my sitting there would provoke him, so I sat far away from him. Then I sat and thought about how to engage him in a discussion. By Allah (Mighty and Majestic), He sent the opportunity. One of the young men from that area, whom we had known before, got on, and I knew that he had married his wife very recently. The young men with me did not know about it. I seized the opportunity and said to him, "I congratulate you with the same blessing that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to give to his Companions. I say to you: May Allah bless you and bestow His blessings upon you, and may He unite you both in goodness. I do not congratulate you with the congratulations of the first age of ignorance or the age of ignorance of the twentieth century. I do not say to you, 'Condolences for the loss of a son,' as is the custom in newspapers with a large headline." Then I went on to explain some of the merits of Islam. I was observing the priest's facial expressions until I felt that he was filled up and was about to overflow, so I fell silent. He began to speak, but, glory to Allah, he spoke without guidance. The conversation was long, and very long, because it lasted from that station to Mada'a, meaning half an hour by train and more. But the point is what follows. He said, "If Islam is like this, why do Muslims declare Ataturk a disbeliever? Is it because he imposed the fez on the Turks?" I said, "No, rather he brought a great calamity, which is that he changed the Shari'ah and the rulings. Among them, he made the female equal to the male. And our Lord says: . He did not find anything to take or stand upon to criticize Islam except the issue of imitating the disbelievers, because I had spoken with him at length about the topic of imitating the disbelievers. When I said that Muslims declared Ataturk a disbeliever not because he imposed this fez on the Turkish people, but because he changed Islam, I then added, "Nevertheless, if he wanted the worldly good for the Muslim Turkish people and saw that this fez was more beneficial than any other head covering, he could have, if he wanted to hold fast to his Islam, attached a badge to the fez for the Muslim. Let it be green, let it be white, so that the Muslim is distinguished from the disbeliever." I spoke and he spoke with me in this area. He insisted that this is a matter of nationalism; there is no need for strictness in it. I returned to him and said, "So, do I understand from your words that there is no objection for you to remove this black cap and put the red fez on your head, with the white turban on top of it?" He said, "No, no, no, we are men of religion." I seized him by the collar, figuratively of course, and said to him, "This is the difference between us, the Muslims, and you, the Christians. You are two classes: a class of men of religion and a class of men without religion. Two classes: men of religion and men who are the majority, men without religion. As for us, the Muslims, there is no difference between us, from the greatest to the smallest. What is forbidden to the greatest is forbidden to the smallest; what is lawful to the greatest is lawful to the smallest, and so on. He was silenced and restrained. Among the hadiths I mentioned was this one, because it has a connection to Ataturk."
The student: Yes.