Is it permissible to remember Allah or seek refuge in Him in the lavatory?

One of the most important ways to overcome waswas (whispers/obsessive thoughts) is to ignore them and distract oneself from them. It is permissible to remember Allah in a place designated for bathing only. However, in the khala' (a place designated for answering the call of nature), remembering Allah is disliked by most scholars, and this dislike intensifies while one is answering the call of nature. Some contemporary scholars have allowed remembering Allah in the modern khala' because it is clean. For the one afflicted by waswas, there is no harm in adopting the easiest and most lenient opinions. Therefore, there is no harm in saying Bismillah inside the khala', but it is better to strive against one's self to repel waswas without uttering the remembrance of Allah in the khala'.