Are Muslims allowed to go to church?

Modern society, with the encouragement of some politicians, allows confrontation between Christians and Muslims. There is an established point of view, which is expressed in the impossibility of coexistence between people with different religious views.

In fact, there is no indication of opposition in any religious scripture, be it the Bible or the Holy Quran. Moreover, the Orthodox Church does not prohibit, but in every possible way encourages the interest of people interested in the Christian religion, its foundations and canons.

Islam and Christianity according to theologians

According to Muslim imams, Christian priests, and ordinary people, our religions have much in common. It is enough to give a few examples from the Koran or Hadith. The Holy Book of Muslims repeatedly mentions with great respect the “People of the Book,” that is, Christians. Because they are preachers of God's law and are humble before the Lord. According to the imams, this is exactly what true Muslims should be.

There is a well-known fact described in the book of the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, when his followers were protected and hidden from the pagans by Christians. They hid Muslims in their homes when they went to Ethiopia, saved them for a good cause, and sent them on their way with blessings.

If you delve into the essence of both religions, you will find a lot in common. Our religious beliefs are similar in that we believe in one God, and the rules for implementing his laws are almost the same. Remember the seven commandments of God, aren’t they written in the Holy Book of Muslims?

The only difference is how sacred prayers are performed and fasts are maintained, but this is largely due to religious traditions, historical and territorial attachments.

Marriage of an Orthodox woman with a Muslim - the opinion of the church

Photo: Topcor.ru
When highlighting the position of the Orthodox Church regarding marriage between Orthodox girls and non-Orthodox girls, it is definitely worth mentioning the following points:

The church has a negative attitude towards marriages between Orthodox and Muslims, since even the Holy Scriptures indicate that the Lord warns against such mixing of the faithful: “you are doing all this great evil, sinning before our God, by taking foreign wives into cohabitation” (Neh. 13:27);
the flood described in the Old Testament occurred for one of the reasons precisely because of the mixing of two genera, since such an act of people was displeasing to the Lord;
all biblical cases where the fact of such mixing was described ended in one or another trouble, once again confirming that the Lord does not like such unions;
the law of the Old Testament that mixed marriages are not pleasing to the Lord remained relevant for the New, once again emphasizing that such unions are unacceptable;
in their spiritual reasoning, the great teachers of the church say that a marriage where there is no agreement of faith cannot be blessed by the Lord.

Based on the above, Orthodox girls are recommended to look for husbands of their faith so that the marriage will be strong, blessed by the Lord and happy.

The 14th rule of the Fourth Ecumenical Council states that the church imposes penance on those who marry people of other faiths, and the 72nd rule of the Sixth Ecumenical Council states that Orthodox Christians cannot marry people of other faiths, since such an action threatens excommunication.

History vividly tells us that before the revolution of 1917, children born in such a marriage were considered illegitimate, which means they had no right to titles or inheritance, and a Christian who did such an act was excommunicated from Communion for 4 years. But there is one nuance here - if a non-Christian converts to Christianity and gives a receipt that the children born into the marriage will be baptized, then the marriage can be concluded, it is considered blessed and valid. There is no such option so that everyone can remain in their faith, and at the same time the marriage is considered blessed.

Even taking into account the words of Holy Scripture, a Christian will find a moment for the wife and husband to be one, and if there are religious differences, then there will be no peace and tranquility in such a family. Yes, love and passion dictate different rules, because when young people meet, everything is completely different, but as soon as you have to live in the same house, raise common children, solve other important issues, religious and cultural differences make themselves felt, which leads to collapse of relationships.

Is there a ban on visiting church in the Koran?

The Prophet Muhammad in one of the hadiths says that Muslims are forbidden to attend ritual gatherings at pagan temples. This in no way concerns Orthodox rituals that are performed in the church. And if someone confuses these concepts and mixes them into one, he is extremely mistaken. Christian customs cannot automatically be attributed to pagan rituals.

In the eyes of the chief Prophet of Muslims, Christians are people on a higher level than the ancient pagans who professed polytheism. He welcomes Christians and equates them with true believers in one God of people.

You will not find a single direct prohibition on visiting an Orthodox church in his instructions.
Moreover, there is evidence that, while traveling around the earth, the Prophet sometimes performed prayers in buildings belonging to other religious denominations. This means that he did not see anything sinful in this.
The house in which God lives can be visited by all people on Earth, regardless of religion.

Is it possible to go to church?

According to the majority of ulama - theologians of Sunni schools, a Muslim can enter the church. The fact that the church is God's house is indicated by the verses of the Holy Quran, which prohibit the destruction of property, buildings such as churches, synagogues, as well as mosques, they go on almost the same level, for, indeed, Jews and Christians are the owners of the Scriptures. Therefore, in their prayers there is, alhamdulillah, truth, but in which prayers we cannot now say, for we do not reject and do not consider the Last Truth to be what is in their prayers. So, we believe that the only Scripture that has not been changed is the Holy Quran.

But in the same church dogmas that contradict the Koran and Sunnah, we see something that is not sent down from God, but introduced by people, but, undoubtedly, this is in the modern world, this is the worship of the cross, when they believe that the cross is a divine symbol, then we do not consider it a divine symbol. Moreover, there is a tradition from the prophet (PBUH) that this is not a good symbol and also prayers addressed to the faces of certain, as the Orthodox say, “written icons.”

We believe that these are images and do not believe that these images should be worshiped, and we do not see any essence in them, because even historically it so happened that we can trace when they appeared in early Christianity, especially in the earlier one among the followers of Monotheism, from Isa (alaihi ssalaam) there were no such signs, even Christian theologians say that there were other signs: a dove, a fish and others. That is why a Muslim should know that in the Christian church there are these symbols that the peasants worship, we do not worship them, and based on this, the main opinion is that it is undesirable and not advisable to go there specifically for prayer - makruh.

Muslims in an Orthodox church

Muslims are not prohibited from entering places of worship belonging to other religions, be it an Orthodox or Catholic church, a synagogue or a Buddhist building. Another thing is everyone’s personal desire or prohibitions related to prohibitions in the family. The most religious or orthodox representatives of the Muslim religion do not visit such buildings of their own free will.

People of other faiths can enter a religious building of a different faith, there will be no sin in this, today the tourism business is widespread in many countries, people travel, get to know countries, and are interested in the life of other peoples.
Perhaps the only condition under which it is worth thinking before entering the walls is service.
If you enter a church during a service, then you, of your own free will, become a participant in the worship service of another cult. And here there may already be prohibitions.
Inspecting the building from the inside for educational purposes is not prohibited, but being on duty can be interpreted differently.

However, everyone decides for themselves based on their own religious views and strength of faith.

Orthodox Christians are also not prohibited from visiting synagogues and mosques, even during services. Many mosques offer guided tours during prayer times. You just need to behave appropriately and be dressed appropriately.

There are still restrictions

Idolatry is considered one of the sins in both Orthodoxy and Islam, so Muslims should not be baptized or venerate icons. A similar ban applies to Orthodox Christians - they cannot participate in prayer. However, a Muslim can light a candle in the temple, and an Orthodox Christian can leave sadaka when leaving the mosque - such voluntary donations are considered as a tribute of respect.

The stereotype that Orthodox Christians are not allowed to enter mosques persists because there is a place where entry is closed to everyone except devout Muslims. This refers to the Sacred Mosque in Mecca. For example, the Koran (9:28) speaks only of polytheists - unclean ones, who should not “approach the Sacred Mosque.” The Quran also states that “it is not lawful for polytheists to revive the mosques of Allah” (9:17). Some believe that we are talking about all mosques here, but according to the interpretation of one of the most widespread schools of Islam - the Hanafi madhhab, the taboo is associated only with the Sacred Mosque, and not with all the houses of Allah.

Supporters of the Hanafi madhhab advocate that people of other faiths should not be prevented from entering mosques, but only after the permission of the mullah. According to the Islamic theologian an-Nawawi, non-Muslims have the right to visit mosques outside Mecca, but on the condition that Muslim worshipers approve of this. Another authoritative theologian, Ali al-Mardawi, agrees with this point of view.

Can Muslims light candles?

It is known that some heads of Muslim countries light candles when visiting an Orthodox church, for example, the head of Kazakhstan, who lit a candle in the cathedral of Astana on Christmas. Of course, this act did not go unnoticed in the Islamic world and was condemned. But many interpreted this act as a tribute to Christianity and a gesture symbolizing the possibility of agreement between people, regardless of their religion.

We must remember that the rituals performed in different religions were invented not by God, but by people, albeit according to his precepts.
Many of the rites and rituals have undergone changes and become distorted over hundreds of years.
Muslims have a clear view on this matter; by performing rituals of other religions, you are committing a grave sin, which is equivalent to idolatry.

The only exception can be if you did it out of ignorance, but even in this case, it will take a lot of time and effort to cleanse the soul.

Position of Christian doctrine

Orthodoxy does not prohibit either Muslims or representatives of other religions from visiting churches both for tourism purposes and for worship, that is, to pray and venerate icons and other shrines, light candles, order magpies and masses.

Also, if desired, you can freely talk with clergy and other parishioners, attend festive and educational events. It is only important to behave decently and, if possible, be modestly dressed.

However, Muslims, like other people of other faiths (except for other branches of Christianity), cannot take part in Christian sacraments - weddings, repentance, communion, baptism (as a guest or godparent) and so on.
Also for all of them the second part of the liturgy is forbidden, called the Liturgy of the Faithful and beginning after the words of the priest “Catechumens, go forth.” Catechumens were those who decided to convert to Orthodoxy and are preparing for baptism, but have not yet undergone it.

A Muslim can gain the right to participate in the sacraments and attend the entire liturgy only after he ceases to be such, that is, he is baptized into Orthodoxy.

Namaz in an Orthodox church

Many people probably cannot even imagine this. Meanwhile, it is not forbidden to perform namaz in an Orthodox church, if there is no other opportunity. Moreover, it is welcome, the only thing worth doing is asking permission to pray from the clergyman of the temple. There is a clear concept in Christianity: God's house must be open to all His children without exception.

For Muslims, the exception is: kissing icons, lighting candles, making the sign of the cross. All these actions are haram, that is, forbidden.

Why did you come to the House of God?

Prohibitions on visiting religious buildings of other faiths do not apply when it comes to sightseeing during excursions. Tourists are not asked what faith they adhere to; they are only asked to follow certain rules: to cover their arms and legs, and for women to cover their heads. You should also take off your shoes when entering a mosque. But if in an Orthodox church a non-Christian can stand among believers, then in mosques non-Christians are located on special tiers.

The rules concern not only the dress code, but also behavior, and they are the same when visiting any house of God: you cannot talk loudly, including taking calls on a mobile phone; give yourself a snack, for example, burgers or bananas; It is undesirable to enter during prayer, and even more so to distract those praying with your questions. Showing respect for another religion removes prohibitions on visiting a religious site. Moreover, the priest or mullah will not refuse to talk to anyone - and it does not matter who the person who comes believes in - Allah or Christ, whether he is a doubter or an atheist.