Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Question : Is the Friday Prayer in the West Valid?
Answer : Today’s leading scholars state that Friday Prayer is valid in the west and other non-muslim countries, if this was not so, then holding Friday prayers would be sinful seeing as it is not permitted to deliberately perform (or call to) worship that is invalid.
It is not a condition of Friday prayer that it be performed in a Muslim land. Rather, the condition that sometimes confuses is that the permission of the Sultan [Muslim ruler] is mentioned as being necessary. [cf: Shurunbulali, Imdad al-Fattah; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar] However, the very same texts mention that if there is no such ruler, then it is valid to choose someone to lead the Friday prayer, as long as there is no open discord the point of the mentioned condition is the avoidance of discord, not the rulers permission per se.
This was raised as in issue in India in the past, because many muslims didn’t live under the rule of a muslim ruler; however the fatwa of the scholars was that it was a communal obligation on those communities to establish Friday prayer because of the general nature of the Divine Command to do so and a personal obligation on Muslim men to attend.
And Allah alone gives success.
Faraz Rabbani