Dr. Hussain Halawa added - in his talk to an episode of “Shari’ah and Life in Ramadan” program (22/4/2022) that the conditions of Muslims are generally stable in European and Western countries, especially in Britain and Ireland, and he said that Muslims there enjoy many rights like other people country.
A Muslim can perform his religious rituals without pressure or threat, and Dr. Halawa gave an example of this for the veiled and even veiled woman, who can walk in the streets without problems.
However, the Secretary-General of the European Council for Fatwa and Research acknowledged the existence of hostility to Muslims in Europe, but he linked it to a few extremists who appear more during election times, and said that if there is hostility to Muslims, it is the result of the rise of the extreme right, especially during the election period such as what is happening in France And he said that some Muslims give a pretext by their behavior to the enemies of Islam.
And about the most prominent fatwas requested by Muslims in Europe, the doctor explained that it relates to congratulating non-Muslims on their holidays, and the European Council has issued a fatwa that congratulates on the condition that it is free of anything glorifying what is sacred that God Almighty has forbidden.
Regarding the issue of worship, Muslims frequently ask about family issues, marriage and social relations, as well as about the issue of combining prayers. The European Council has issued a fatwa - according to Dr. Halawa - that it is permissible to combine Zuhr and Asr prayers in the winter, and to combine Maghrib and Isha when the sign of the evening prayer is absent or its time is late. until midnight or later.
Protecting Muslims from Atheism and Excommunication Campaigns
With regard to financial transactions and loans, the Secretary-General of the European Council for Fatwa and Research confirmed that the Council permitted Muslims residing in Europe to buy homes through usurious banks because there are no Islamic banks, but with controls.
The European Council also permitted for Muslims types of insurance, with the exception of life insurance, which issued a fatwa prohibiting it except in cases of necessity. It also issued a fatwa that loans for investment are not permissible.
And on how to protect Muslims in Europe from campaigns of atheism and infidelity and other abnormal phenomena, he said that there is an intensive campaign from Islamic centers, but it needs more interaction, stressing the role of the family in facing challenges, especially the father and mother through the ways they deal with children, and stressed that Their role is very big in avoiding children falling into taboos.