Can a Muslim Study in a Catholic School?

Question :

As-Salamu `Alaykum wa Rahmatulllahi wa Barakatuh. I have a question about attending a Catholic school. I attend a Catholic College, and many of my Muslim friends have stated that it is not a rightful act to attend a Catholic school. However, I'm not forced to take any of the classes that relate to the Catholicism. What do you say on this? Jazakum Allah khayran.

Answer (Sheikh `Abdullah Ibn Jibreen) :

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
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.

Dear brother in Islam, thank you very much for having confidence in us, and we implore Allah to guide you to the best, and to direct you to that which pleases Him, Amen.

Indeed, the Islamic ruling related to Muslim students who study in non-Muslim schools is different from one student to the other according to the religious background of each student.

Shedding more light on this issue, we would like to cite for you the following fatwa issued by the well known Saudi scholar, Sheikh `Abdullah Ibn Jibreen:

“Undoubtedly, such schools pose a great danger to any Muslim who is ignorant of Islam and its teachings, because they give lessons and impart information that vents air to the dogmas spread by unbelievers and their beliefs, as well as their scathing attacks launched against Islam and Muslims.


However, for a Muslim student who has a sound understanding of the beliefs of Islam, and possesses a quite awareness of what is halal and what is haram in Islam, there is nothing wrong in his attending such schools, as long as he finds himself tempted by a need to go there to learn a skill or profession or to gain specific knowledge while he is confident that he will not be swayed by the torrent of what he is taught there.


What’s actually worrisome is the case of a Muslim student who has inadequate knowledge about his religion, and does not understand the plots of the unbelievers and their tricks against Muslims. No doubt, such a student is prone to fall prey to the traps, unlike the case of a Muslim student, who is armed with the adequate religious knowledge he has; this will normally help him to adhere to the beliefs and practices of Islam.”

In conclusion, it’s clear now that studying in those Catholic schools is permissible as long as the aforementioned guidelines are observed.


May Allah guide you to the straight path, and direct you to that which pleases Him, Amen.

(Source : Islamonline)