In the name of Allah most Gracious Most Merciful,
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon the best of His creation, the seal of Prophethood, the Last Messenger Mohammad peace be upon him and upon all those who follow his path to the Last Day,
We received numerous responses to the Fatwa that was posted on our website regarding the conference. The Fatwa even generated interest from national and local newspapers for interviews. Respondents seem to split down the middle between those who agree and support the opinion of the centre and those who disagree. We would like to thank all those who took the time to express their feelings about the Fatwa. This Fatwa was never directed at anyone group or individual(s). We are an educational institution that aims to promote the correct teachings of Islam as conveyed by the Prophet 
, his companions, and their righteous followers. We do not promote hatred or intolerance, rather we educate Muslims about their religion.
A Fatwa is a legal opinion that guides Muslims on understanding the legal opinion of Islam on a new issue, it is not a tool to generate religious fervour and hate. Any Fatwa is based on two components: a ruling in Islamic law (Hukm) and the situation that this ruling is being applied to (Manat). Both these components must be studied to come to a legal opinion (or Fatwa) on that matter. In this case, the evidence is overwhelming against the promotion, propagation of and participation in gatherings of Bida'a and its people. Bida'a means innovation in religion (be it addition, deletion or deviation from the correct understanding). It is how past revelations were tampered with and changed over time resulting in a complete deviation from the original message that was conveyed by Allah 
to his messengers, peace be upon them all. For this reason, Prophet Mohammad emphatically stated very clearly that every innovation in religion is a misguidance and every misguidance is in Hell-Fire. As for what is a Bida'a or innovation in religion, the scholars of Islam have written over the centuries about innovations (such as Al-I'etissam by Imam Al-Shatibi) and those sects that adopted a specific set of innovations and have come to be known by them (such as the books on deviant sects, like Al-Farq bayna Al-Firqa for Al-Baghdadi).
The second part of a legal opinion (Fatwa) is the situation or scenario that one seeks a legal opinion on. Over the past three years, we received many questions regarding this conference (and other conferences for that matter). The feedback about the general environment at these conference was the direct input from people who attended the conference, listened to the speeches, and talked to various other attendants about their experiences at the conference. Based on both the rulings of Shariah about Bida'a, the invited speakers past-and-present, and the general atmosphere of honouring people of Bida'a, it was clear that a statement was necessary to warn those who are not educated about these matters in Shariah of their participation in such an event.
We expressed clearly in the Fatwa that good intentions on their own are not sufficient for the acceptance of actions in front of Allah . Actions must be sincere to Allah , but they must also be consistent with the guidance and principles of Sunnah, as explained by the scholars of Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jama'a such as Ibn Taymiyah. This is the meaning of the Shahada that every Muslim declares: Belief in Allah, which is expressed through sincerity of actions, and belief in the Prophet , which is expressed in following his Sunnah.
قُلْ إِنِّي أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ مُخْلِصًا لَهُ الدِّينَ (الزمر 11)
Say: "Verily, I am commanded to serve Allah with sincere devotion" (39:11)
عن عائشة رضي الله عنها أن النبي قال من أحدث في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو رد (متفق عليه)
Aisha (may Allah be please with her) reported that the Prophet said: "Whoever innovates in our religion then his action is rejected [not accepted]" (agreed upon)
We do not claim infallibility and we ask those who disagree to present their evidence for consideration, debate and open dialogue. However, those who objected were clearly driven by emotional feelings without clear evidence from Shariah. We did not receive one proof against the evidence provided. Dar Al-Arqam is an educational and research centre that is based on scientific research in Aqeeda, Quran, Hadith, Seerah, Fiqh and principles of Fiqh. We promote educational dialogue.
As for those who like to only send hate mail, throw around insults and names, we won't stoop down to their level. We consider that Democracy is being betrayed by its own people. Those who can not bear to hear the other opinion and jump to label us as extremists and the likes are merely new "little Sadams" without an Iraq! They are invited to practice Democracy and reply in a scholarly manner rather than such subjective nonsense that reflects their lack of understanding in Shariah and lack of Islamic Etiquette.
We continue to encourage Muslims to educate themselves about these issues and other issues which are central to our faith. We call on and encourage Muslims to unite together, but only under the banner of the Sunnah of the Prophet as we explained in the Fatwa. We ask all those who are sincere to encourage and demand that such events represent those who are true to and sincerely follow the teachings of the Prophet ; after all this conference's theme is "Legacy of the Prophet".
Lastly, we say to everyone that we do not claim self-righteous or that we are only the true followers of the Sunnah. Alhamdu Lillah, there are many people learned and of the public who sincerely follow the methodology of Ahlul Sunnah wal Jama'ah. We are at times caught in defending the Sunnah against many foreign practices and ideologies that spring up like wild-fires to the point of exhausting our efforts in refuting these Bida'as. Thus appearing to be only against this or that without expressing what we stand for. We ask everyone to review the About Us page and Our Creed to know who we are. And we ask people to join us in trying all those who sincerely follow and want to follow the methodology of Ahlul Sunnah wal Jama'ah. After all, strength is in numbers and unity.
We ask Allah 
to guide those are sincere to the True path of Allah and we ask Allah to forgive us for our sins and any mistakes that we commit. And we ask Allah to guide those who seek guidance.
اللهم رب جبرائيل و ميكائيل و اسرافيل ، فاطر السماوات والأرض ، عالم الغيب والشهادة أنت تحكم بين عبادك فيما كانوا فيه يختلفون ، اهدنا لما اختلف فيه من الحق بإذنك إنك تهدي من تشاء إلى صراط مستقيم
Oh Allah, Lord of Jibraeel, Michaeel, and Israfeel, Creator of the heavens and the Earth, Knower of the seen and the unseen. You are the arbitrator between Your servants in that which they have disputed. Guide us to the truth by Your leave, in that which they have differed, for verily You guide whom You will to a straight path.
و آخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين