The Sacred Mosque
"The idol worshippers are not to frequent the mosques of God while confessing disbelief.." Surah 9:17.
"O you who
believe, the idol worshippers are polluted, they shall not be
permitted to approach the Sacred Mosque (Masjidil Haram) after
this year. If you fear loss of income, God will provide for you,
if He Wills.. " Surah 9:28.
Idol Worshippers
We understand from these verses that idol worshippers cannot worship in the mosques which belong to God. This includes not just the Sacred Mosque (Masjidil Haram) but all mosques.
"The only people from to frequent God's mosques are those who believe in God, the Last Day and who observe the salat.." Surah 9:18.
The only people who can worship in God's mosques are the believers, those who believed in God, the Last Day and those who observe the salat.
This is consistent with other religions too. A Christian will not be allowed to worship his cross inside a Hindu temple. Similarly a Hindu will not be allowed to worship the statue of Rama inside a church.
The injunction is not
to allow the idol worshippers into the mosques (9:17 above) as
well as the Sacred Mosque (9:28 above) for worship.
Business
But there is no harm in allowing people of different faiths to visit mosques, temples and churches. In fact a visit to the mosque can be the best way to observe the practise of the religion at first hand. In the past the Prophet even conducted business with the idol worshippers inside the Sacred Mosque. The following verse indicates that treaties were negotiated and signed inside the Sacred Mosque (Masjidil Haram).
"How can the
idol worshippers demand any pledge from God and His Messenger?
Exempted are those who have signed a peace treaty with you at the
Sacred Mosque. If they honour and uphold such a treaty you shall
uphold it as well. God loves the righteous."Surah 9:7.
VIP Non-Believers
In Malaysia, the
mosques are usually built by non-Muslim contractors. Strangely,
once the mosques have been built, non-Muslims are not allowed to
enter the mosque, unless of course renovation or repair works
need to be done by the non-Muslim contractors again. Special
waivers are however granted for VIP non-Muslims like the Queen of
England who has entered the largest mosque in Malaysia. Obviously
there is some confusion.
Mecca
The same confusion is evident in Mecca today. Today non-Muslims are not even allowed inside Mecca.
Some say that
non-Muslims should not be allowed within a 15-mile radius of the
Sacred Mosque (depending on whose consensus is popular) The truth
is that the size of the Sacred Mosque is not defined in the
Quran. Until about twenty years ago, Mecca was still desert and
sand. Only after the oil boom of the 70s, marble flooring was
laid and extensive renovations were carried out. The Sacred
Mosque has therefore been expanded.
Sacred Mosque
Just like in Malaysia, whenever some work needs to be done, like pumping out flood waters from the well of Zam Zam, the Saudis call in German and Russian engineers to do the job.
However the engineers are required to supervise the work by closed circuit television, as they are not allowed to enter the Sacred Mosque.
This is quite
ridiculous because the engineers do not wish to worship idols at
the Sacred Mosque, only pump out the floodwaters. But who are the
idol worshippers?
Messenger
"There are those who abuse the mosque by practising idol worship, dividing the believers and providing comfort to those who oppose God and His Messenger. They solemnly swear "Our intentions are honourable". God bears witness that they are liars." Surah 9:107.
Note carefully that this verse refers to people who already have access to the mosques: that is some of the 'muslims'. They abuse the mosque - even the Sacred Mosque. '