Muslims living in non-Muslim countries are encouraged to establish religious councils and institutions to regulate their personal and family affairs. This will also help them to be officially recognized. 

Formation of Islamic Institutions

Similar Questions

• Formation of religious councils;

• Establishment of Islamic centres and societies.

The Issue

Muslims living in non-Muslim countries may seek to establish religious councils or official Islamic societies to regulate their personal affairs in accordance with the provisions of Islamic law.

Ruling

Muslims living in non-Muslim countries are encouraged to unite and cooperate. They can achieve this through the establishment of religious councils, institutions or Islamic societies that undertake the regulation of their personal and family affairs in accordance with the provisions of Islamic law while at the same time observing the law of the land. This is the ruling of the Permanent Committee for Research and Fatwa[1] and it is included in the recommendations of the second session of the European Council for Fatwa and Research.

The European Council for Fatwa and Research urges Muslims to exert serious effort to obtain official recognition in their countries of residence of Islam as a faith and Muslims as a religious minority, like other religious minorities, with full rights to organize and regulate their own family affairs such as marriage, divorce and inheritance.

Evidence

To do this is to implement God’s order to help one another in furthering righteousness and piety, as God has commanded Muslims:

Sources

• Fatawa by the Permanent Committee for Research and Fatwa.

• Decisions of the European Council for Fatwa and Research.

• Mut’ib al-Qahtani (ed.), Is'af al-Mughtaribin bi Fatawa al-'Ulama’ al-Rabbaniyyin.

• Sulaiman Muhammad Topoliyak, Al-Ahkam al-Siyasiyyah lil Aqaliyyat al-Muslimah fi al-Fiqh al-Islami.