Is It Sinful for Me to Attend Non-Muslim Business Meetings?

08 April, 2019
Q I live in a non-Muslim majority country and I work for a good company. Sometimes, I have to attend business meetings where the attendees (non-Muslims) invoke their gods. Can I attend such meetings?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. 

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.


In this fatwa:

If attending such business meetings would cause some distance between you and them, you may attend but without participating in their rituals.


Answering your question, Dr. Ali Suleiman Ali, PhD in Islamic Studies and a co-founder, Core Scholar, and member of the Board of Trustees of the American Learning Institute for Muslims (ALIM), states:

If not attending such business meetings where non-Muslim workers invoke their gods would not cause uncomfortable relationship with your colleagues, then you should not attend.

However, if attending such meetings would cause some distance between you and them, you may attend but without participating in their rituals.

A Muslim should maintain his/her Islamic identity wherever he/she is.

Almighty Allah knows best.