Saturday, February 10, 2007

Taqiyya (understanding Islam)

Everybody's heard of "propaganda".
Most people understand the concept of "mis-information" which is a useful tool in intelligence operations during war.
Has anyone ever heard of Taqiyya?

Here is a good starting point for understanding Taqiyya.

Taqiyya

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Islamic tradition, Taqiyya (التقية - 'fear, guard against')[1] is the dispensation allowing believers to conceal their faith when under threat, persecution or compulsion. It is based on Qur'an verses 3:28 and 16:106 as well as hadith, tafsir literature, and juridical commentaries.[2] Some Sunnis assert that Taqiyya is an act of hypocrisy that serves to conceal the truth. According to them, Taqiyya constitutes a lack of faith and trust in God because the person who conceals his beliefs to spare himself from danger is fearful of humans, when he should be fearful of God only.

The word "al-Taqiyya" literally means: "Concealing or disguising one's beliefs, convictions, ideas, feelings, opinions, and/or strategies at a time of eminent danger, whether now or later in time, to save oneself from physical and/or mental injury." A one-word translation would be "Dissimulation."

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