Sheikh Abdullah Bin Bayyah stressed that extremists and fanatics are allies of the Americanisation trend, pointing out that the dialogue is not new to Muslims and that difference among scholars leads to tolerance and magnanimity. The Messenger (peace be upon him) engaged in dialogue with the people of Al-Hudaybiyah despite what they did to him. Bin Bayyah described the outcome of the dialogue conducted with the West as being of “little, but important, benefit”. In his lecture entitled “Human Rights: Remote Dialogue” delivered as part of the events of Riyadh Book Fair yesterday evening, Bin Bayyah shed light on the objectives of the dialogue, mentioning that the dialogue “is a pattern of resistance and confrontation of this unjust campaign against Islam and Muslims, which is trying to get it out of the cultural context and depicting Muslims as devils.”
In this regard, Bin Bayyah said: “We are not devils or infallible angels, but we are part of the Islamic civilization. In addition, dialogue provides the rule of difference as a golden rule for human coexistence.” He noted, “We want to be part of civilization, but with our own particulars, and we seek to integrate the values, rather than attack them.”
He drew attention to the importance of establishing a “union of the good people” with those possessing sound mind. Bin Bayyah added that among the objectives of dialogue is that we should “call to the fact that we represent history and we own history, as `Umar bin Al-Khattab and Saladin entered Jerusalem, so it is possible to balance and compare our judgment to theirs.”
Then, Sheikh Bin Bayyah moved to address the obstacles of dialogue, pointing to the gap in the West between word and action, as “they say that which they do not do”. The problem lies in the partiality represented in the search for interest only. After that, he talked about women’s rights, pointing out that women’s dignity and respect are incontestable in Islam, as both men and women are equal in rights and duties, and stressing that women are the basis of all virtues.
Afterwards, Bin Bayyah stated that he was asked about women’s assumption of presidency in Indonesia if this is achieved through elections, and his answer was “let them till the wind of elections dissuade them”.
Bin Bayyah also tackled the issue of the permissibility for a woman who has become a Muslim to stay with her disbelieving husband, basing his opinion on the words of Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, saying, “A woman staying as a Muslim is better for her than forcing her to leave her disbelieving husband, if this may lead to her apostasy.” This is the legal fatwa issued by the European Council, which goes against the opinion of all Fiqhi councils. He expressed his willingness to discuss and go back if it turns out to be a wrong opinion. Bin Bayyah stressed that the punishment of the apostate is “contradictory to universal human rights”, noting that we agree with the trend that calls for justice and peace and we do not approve of dissolution and melting, nor isolation and breakoff with others.
Sheikh Bin Bayyah pointed out that extremists and fanatics are the allies of the Americanisation trend.