Answer
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.
In this fatwa:
It is allowed for you to work and eat in such a restaurant as long as the work you do and the food you eat are halal. However, if you search for a different restaurant without these statues, it would be better for you.
Responding to your question, Dr. Hatem Al-Hajj, Dean of College of Islamic Studies, Mishkah University, stated,
The answer to this is twofold:
Is it halal to eat or work in this restaurant?
Yes, it is halal.
Is it better to eat or work in a restaurant that doesn’t have such statues?
Yes, it is.
Cautious piety is the characteristic of the devout believers, and they do much to stay away from haram, and they always work to have a cushion of doubtful things between them and that which is haram.
Having said that, we can’t say to Muslims, particularly in non-Muslim countries that they can’t shop or work at stores that have irregularities or things that contradict our Shari`ah, because of the obvious hardship it implies, as may be recognized by those who live in such conditions.
Thus, that is true as long as the function you perform and the food you eat are halal. However, if you find a place that doesn’t have any irregularities, then Allah has given you an alternative that is better and safer for your heart and your religious commitment.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.