Aslam

Praise be to Allah.

We have read more about the country – Finland – in which you

are living; some of it saddened us, but other things made us happy.  We are

saddened by the division that there is among you, and by the fact that many

neglect to call people to Allaah or pay attention to their families and

children. We are also saddened to learn that some Muslim women have married

Christian men in that country, as these are invalid marriages; and that many

people have failed to obey Allaah and adhere to His religion. All of that

makes the burden of the people of knowledge and goodness even greater, and

lays upon them a huge responsibility towards the Muslim community in that

European land.

But what made us happy is the news that the number of Muslims

in that country is increasing, and the Muslim community is now one hundred

thousand strong, according to some reports, although we do not know how many

of them are Sunnis. And we are happy to learn that many of the people of

that country have entered the religion of Allaah.

What we advise you, and we hope that our words will have a

good effect on your hearts and actions:

1.

First and foremost, every Muslim should try to return to his

homeland, and those who have become Muslim should move to a Muslim country

where they can practise their religion safely. They should leave that

country where the religious commitment, minds and hearts of many Muslims

have been corrupted, whenever they are able to do so.

2.

Those who cannot leave or who do not want to should fear

Allaah with regard to themselves and the members of their household; they

should advise them sincerely and take good care of them, and protect

themselves and their families from the Fire of Allaah.

3.

You must strive to establish study circles for learning

Qur’aan and (Islamic) knowledge, in which the ignorant may be taught and the

young Muslims (?) may learn to obey Allaah. It is not permissible for you to

be careless about this matter. We have read how the Tatars in Finland

preserved their language and culture; your Islam and Arabic language are

more important and you must take great care of them in your daily lives.

4.

Try to invite scholars and seekers of knowledge to come to

you, so that they can undertake the duties of calling people to Islam,

exhorting, guiding and teaching. Such meetings will play a part in uniting

you and helping you adhere to the rulings of sharee’ah which have to do with

the realities of your lives.

5.

Do not leave any room for the devils among mankind and the

jinn to cause division in your ranks and spread disunity among you. You have

to be aware that you are living in a Christian society, a Christian country,

whose flag bears the cross! You have to remember that what happens between

Muslims who have differences is not like your differences with other

religions. The difference between Muslims who pray in the same direction

(ahl al-qiblah) is may be a difference between Sunnah and bid’ah, and in

some cases it may be the difference between a correct view and a less

correct view, but the difference between you and the other religions is the

difference between Islam and kufr. These are two different issues.

6.

With regard to this party that is trying to establish an

Islamic state in Finland, they should think on the basis of reason and not

emotion; they should look at reality and not turn a blind eye to it. You

cannot even bury a Muslim in a graveyard that is just for Muslims, so would

you be able to close liquor stores and establish an Islamic state there?!

What is this, O slaves of Allaah?! This is imaginary dreams

and farfetched thinking, which may be excused in a man who does not know the

reality of where you live and does not know anything about the difficulties

that you face. But a man who sees what you see and knows what you know

should think soundly on the basis of fitrah, sharee’ah and reason, and his

efforts should be aimed at achieving whatever he is most able to of the

Muslims’ interests in your country, and warding off whatever evils, harm and

oppression he can.

Based on that, if those people have an Islamic party, they

should invest their efforts in establishing Islamic institutions, schools,

Muslim graveyards, and stop thinking about establishing an Islamic state,

because in fact that is virtually impossible and is just an illusion, based

on what we have seen of the Muslims’ inability to achieve that, even in

their own countries, so how can they do it in a non-Muslim country? Just

demanding an Islamic state will bring evil consequences such as only Allaah

knows, so how about if they took practical steps towards it? If the state is

unable to stop them – which is not the case – then let them imagine their

fate if the European Union were to get involved in stopping that. What would

be the fate of all the efforts that have been made for decades?  We have

read about the situation of Muslim men and women in your country after

September 11th, so how about if the anti-Islam establishments

were to spread the idea that the Muslims only want to rule in order to apply

Islam and limit freedoms and oppress women? Yes, they are exaggerating and

lying, but we are giving them the ammunition that they are throwing in our

faces.

7.

One of the priorities of that Islamic party should be to

preserve Islamic identity and strive to spread the message of Islam, free of

distortions; they should present it to the Muslims so as to bring them back

to commitment and righteousness, and you should prove to non-Muslims that

your religion is a religion of unity, brotherhood and cooperation in

righteousness and piety.

8.

The Muslim brothers who are of that land should continue to

call people to Allaah among their families and relatives, and tell others of

the joy they have found by entering Islam. It seems that they will have more

impact on the people of that land than Muslims who have migrated from other

countries.

9.

Strive to buy a piece of land as soon as possible to be used

for graves for Muslims who believe in Tawheed (the oneness of Allaah), and

try to move the Muslims who were buried with non-Muslims to these Islamic

graves.

10.

It should be a priority of Islamic groups and political

parties, especially those that are trying to establish an Islamic state, as

we said, to preserve the identity of the Muslims who are living there. One

of the most important means of preserving their identity is for Muslim men

to marry Muslim women and to strive to create an Islamic atmosphere in their

social lives. In the Islamic parties and organizations there should be

people who direct the Muslims’ private matters such as marriage, divorce and

social relationships in accordance with the laws of Allaah, without trying

to impose that on everyone in the Christian country which, as we have said,

is a very farfetched idea, the consequences of which will be bad for you.

11.

We advise everyone to be gentle in calling people to Allaah

and to follow the way of the Prophets and Messengers and successful

daa’iyahs. You should direct your da’wah to leaders, politicians, decision

makers, journalists, writers and all classes of people. Perhaps Allaah will

guide one of them who will become very influential. And strive to remove

evils from the lives of Muslims in the way that is best.

12.

You should always be in contact with your Muslim brothers in

Europe and in the Muslim world, so that you can consult them about your

affairs and ask the scholars about issues and problems that you are facing.

The Muslim is the mirror of his brother, and two brothers together are

stronger than one on his own.

And Allaah knows best.