Ruling on building tourist resorts and taking part in that

Praise be to Allah.

Allaah has forbidden people to disobey Him, and He has forbidden them to co-operate in disobedience. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Help you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression”

[al-Maa’idah 5:2]

These tourist resorts and villages -- unfortunately -- have become venues for kaafirs and immoral people, who do not respect the sacred limits of Allaah and have no fear of Him, and they do not venerate Allaah as He deserves to be venerated. 

In these resorts there is nakedness and places of entertainment in which there is dancing, permissiveness, immorality, open consumption of alcohol and, in some of them, there may be places for gambling (casinos). 

All of these are haraam things; indeed, they are major sins. 

It is not permissible for the one who believes in Allaah and the Last Day to do these things, and it is not permissible for him to take part in them or to help those who are doing them. 

All kinds of sins are committed in these resorts; the one who built them or helps to establish them or helps to keep them running, has a share of the sin involved. 

Even the permissible places in them, such as medical clinics, supermarkets, parking lots, laundromats and so on, are only built to make it easier for the sinners to commit sin, so they are not free of sin either. 

The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas were asked: 

I work for an Arab building and development company (private sector). Currently the company is building a tourist resort called -----. It is building villas, apartments and chalets. It is located on the coast on the outskirts of -----. This resort has been built to be used as a summer resort for local tourists. Please note that it is located in among other similar resorts, or more correctly, the entire coastal region in ----- is used as summer resorts. The people in our country who use these places in the summer only do not adhere to sharee’ah at all, and immodesty is a deeply rooted characteristic among them, to such an extent that they bathe in the sea in what is called bathing suits, men and women alike. Please note that the region of ----- is remote and the people there are more promiscuous and more disobedient to Allaah the Lord of the Worlds. 

My questions are: 

1.What is the ruling on building resorts or villages like this, as it has become very common.

2.What is the ruling on those who work for these companies? Please note that the company has other projects in the country.

3.What is the ruling on those who work on the building site, whether as engineers, contractors or employees?

4.What is the ruling on the architects who design resorts such as these?

They replied: 

Firstly: if the situation is as described, it is haraam to build these resorts, because that is enabling the evildoers to do evil, and is cooperating with them in spreading it. 

Secondly: it is not permissible for the Muslim to work for these companies in building these houses or facilities, whether he is a contractor, an engineer who is supervising the project, a designer, a construction worker, a manager, or an accountant, and so on, because that is cooperating in sin and transgression, and spreading evil and corruption. End quote. 

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ghadyaan, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Qa’ood.