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 questioner, thanks for your trust in us. May Allah reward you abundantly for your enthusiasm to know the teachings of your religion. We invoke Almighty Allah to protect all suffering people all over the world against oppression and injustice.
Islam is the religion of mercy. It does not sanction injustice whether inflicted against Muslims or non-Muslims. Also, Islam teaches that Muslims are one brotherhood like one body; when an organ aches, all other organs share the pain with fever and insomnia. In his Hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stated: “A Muslim is a brother of a Muslim. He must not wrong him, nor fail him, nor hand him over (to enemies).” In doing so, a Muslim should stick to the Islamic teachings and do only what is lawful from the Islamic point of view.
Answering the question in point, Sheikh Faysal Mawlawi, Deputy Chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, stated the following:
"If the US attacks Iraq, then it is the right of Muslims all over the world to help their fellow Iraqis in fending off this aggression. However, attacking the US interests is a term used in the sense of attacking the economic interests, the US embassies, or even any American anywhere. This usage of the term is not acceptable from the Islamic point of view, which restricts fighting to those who actually engage in attacking and killing Muslims and does not permit any other attack unless it is necessitated by war conditions, and this is to be estimated by the Muslim ruler.
Therefore, no Muslim is allowed to launch an attack against US interests for fighting purposes unless he gets the permission of the Muslim ruler.
As for boycotting American products as a way of attacking the American interests, it is not only permissible but also an obligatory measure from the Shari`ah point of view. This is because it is not considered an act of fighting or killing but a personal matter. Every Muslim has right to choose whatever products he may purchase, but he is not allowed to assist the American economy by purchasing its products."
You can also read:
Ulama’s Fatwa on Boycotting Israeli and American Products
