In a letter to the ruler, which was rather a fatwa he denied the former's right to have Barth arrested or killed and his belongings confiscated, as the Christian was neither a dhimmi (a non-Muslim subject of a Muslim ruler) nor an enemy of Islam, but the native of a friendly country, that is Great Britain. He went as far as to deny Ahmad Ahmad ibn Muhammad Lobbo the right to proclaim a jihad and called him "the ruler over a few huts at the outskirts of the Islamic world".
In a letter to the ruler, which was essentially an edict he rejected the former's right to detain or eliminate Barth, confiscate his possessions, as the Christian was neither a dhimmi (a non-Muslim subject of a Muslim ruler) nor an adversary of Islam, but the native of a friendly country, that is Great Britain. He went so far as to deny Ahmad Ahmad ibn Muhammad Lobbo the right to declare a jihad and called him "the leader over a few huts at the periphery of the Islamic world".