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October 28, 2010 Special Dispatch No. 3329

'Islamist Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad on His Website: "To Believe In or Participate in Halloween is an Act of Shirk (Associating Partners with Allah) – The Greatest Crime Any Person Can Commit'

October 28, 2010
Special Dispatch No. 3329

In an undated article titled "Halloween: Trick or Shirk," Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad warns Muslim youth to not participate in Halloween celebrations. The article was posted on his English-language website Izharudeen.com, which is is registered to Mr. Izharudeen (izharudeen@hotmail.co.uk/+1.0793016766). The site is hosted from http://www.weebly.com/, a San Francisco, CA-based do-it-yourself website/blog site.The company can be reached at questions@weebly.com, or at phone (415)375-3268.

Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, who is Syrian-born, is the former leader of the Islamist "Al-Muhajirun" organization in Britain. He has been living in Beirut since 2005, when British Home Office informed him when he was on a visit there that he would not be allowed to reenter the U.K.

The following are excerpts from the article:[1]

"It is Important to Take All Necessary Steps to Safeguard Ourselves and Children from Any Practices That Will Lead to Hellfire"

"Every year, thousands upon thousands of young children are encouraged to dress up as devils, witches, ghosts and many other various demonic figures. This act is followed by knocking from door to door requesting a treat or being tricked as part of the Halloween festival.

"During the Halloween season, schools, movies, cartoons, shops, etc. work very hard in promoting and legitimizing Halloween as a celebration worth celebrating.

"As Muslims who are firm believers in the Day of Judgment and responsible guardians of our children, it is important to take all necessary steps to safeguard ourselves and children from any practices that will lead to Hellfire, a punishment which is 70 times hotter than the fires of this world. Allah (SWT) said, 'O you who believe! Save yourselves and your families a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones.' (66:6)

"Before we encourage our children or ourselves to participate in the Halloween celebrations we must know what does Halloween stands for, and what effect will it have on our deeds on the Day when we will stand before Allah, giving an account for every single deed we do in our lives.

"Halloween is a mixture of pagan (idol worshippers) and Christian belief and practice. The idol worshippers believed that during the night of the 31st of October the gods would play tricks/pranks on their worshipers that would bring danger and cause fear on them. To be safeguarded from the mischief of these gods, the worshippers would offer treats to their gods in the form sacrifices, food, gifts etc., hence the notion 'Trick or Treat.'

"In current time, children as well as adults dress up as creatures of the evil, scaring people (trick) unless they give a sacrifice (i.e. a treat). For the Christians, Halloween is a celebration of all the saints that have passed away or were martyred/killed in the path of serving and establishing Christianity. Christians would spend the previous night at all-night vigils."

"To Believe In or Participate in Halloween is an Act of Shirk (Associating Partners with Allah) – The Greatest Crime Any Person Can Commit"

"To summarize Halloween is:

- "Belief in evil gods

- "Imitating evil gods

- "Offering sacrifice to evil gods to be free from their mischief

- "Praying and remembering dead Christian activists.

"Realizing this reality of Halloween, the true believer in the One and Only true God (Allah) must ask what the Islamic ruling is on belief in false gods, pretending to be a false god, offering sacrifice to a false god and praying for the dead from the non-Muslims. What is the Islamic ruling on celebrating Halloween, i.e. dressing up in costumes, asking for treats, offering treats, decorating houses, and displaying pumpkins?

"To believe in or participate in Halloween is an act of shirk (associating partners with Allah), the greatest crime any person can commit, so severe that Allah (SWT) will never forgive the one that commits shirk and dies upon it. For Allah said, 'Verily! Allah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners in worship with Him, but He forgives whom he pleases sins other than that, and whoever sets up partners in worship with Allâh, has indeed strayed far away.' (4:116)"

"Any Person Who Offers A Treat On The Night Of Halloween – The Curse Of Allah Will Be Upon Him"

"Any person who offers a treat on the night of Halloween – the curse of Allah will be upon him, for verily the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, 'Allah curses him who sacrifices to other than Allah' ([Hadith by] Muslim).

"Those who practice any non-Islamic celebrations or imitate the behavior of any people is the same as them, because the Messenger of Allah said, 'Whoever imitates a group of people, he is one of them' ([attributed to] Abu Dawood).

"As Muslims, we are responsible for purifying the lands from any corruption hence we are duty bound to eradicate all evil and the worst is Shirk (giving the right of Allah to another)."

Muslims Must "Understand That Any Practices [Or] Celebrations That Do Not Come From Islam Are Evil"

"Dear Muslims: We must realize and understand that any practices [or] celebrations that do not come from Islam are evil, because if it was good then Allah (SWT) would have included it in our Deen. Halloween is an evil celebration which promotes worship and sacrifice to false gods, an evil that pollutes one's belief and worship to Allah. Halloween is a form of Shirk and disobedience introduced by Shaytaan [Satan] in the form of a trick, enjoyment, and celebration.

"Therefore, do not participate in this evil. Do not purchase any item to do with Halloween, do not let your children go knocking from door to door for treats, do not give any treats, and warn your family members, warn your relatives, warn other Muslims and the non-Muslims about this great evil."

Endnotes:

[1] http://www.izharudeen.com/halloween-article.html. The text has been lightly edited for clarity.

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