Taquiyya
Taqiyya is a form of deception particular to Islam. It allows Muslims to deceive in order to protect themselves or Islam. A literal translation is dissimulation, which means to disguise, or conceal, ones true intentions, or feelings. So, basically it is a licence to lie to people, or at least hide the truth. A well known practitioner of Taqiyya was the late Yasser Arafat, who was well known for saying one thing for the consumption of Western TV audiences, and another thing when among friends in Palestine.
This is how you get Islamic organisations in the UK, Europe, and elsewhere hiding their true aims. They may have a desire to see an Islamic state (Khilafah, or Caliphate), where everybody lives under Sharia law, but this will not be mentioned in their literature, or on their web sites. Of course, the truth always comes out, but they just deny it.
They will tell you that Islam means peace, when in reality it means total submission to the will of Allah. Of course, many Muslims believe that if Islam takes over the world, there will, in the end, be total peace (actually, the different sects would continue to kill each other). The point is, that to aspire to this world wide Caliphate, many of them think that armed Jihad (holy war), is a perfectly acceptable means to an end. They will quote the early verses in the Koran, which support their description of Islam as a religion of peace, but they will fail to mention that many of these verses were abrogated (substituted by), later, more warlike verses.
Taquiyya - Deception - Lying | Pentagramz
Origin of the Practice
The practice of concealing ones faith in dangerous circumstances originates in the Quran itself, which deems blameless those who disguise their beliefs in such cases [3]. (See, however, the Denial of Peter.) The practice of taqiyya in difficult circumstances is considered legitimate by Muslims of various persuasions. Sunni and Shii commentators alike observe that Q 16:106 in particular refers to the case of Ammar b. Yasir, who was forced to renounce his beliefs under physical duress and torture.[4]
Similarly, Q 3:28 enjoins believers not to take the company of doubters unless as a means of safeguarding themselves. Let not the believers take those who deny the truth for their allies in preference to the believers since he who does this cuts himself off from God in everything unless it be to protect yourself against them in this way [5] Regarding 3:28, Ibn Kathir, a prominent authority writes, "Whoever at any time or place fears their [infidels'] evil may protect himself through outward show." As proof of this, he quotes Muhammad's companion, al-Hassan, who said, taqiyya is acceptable till the Day of Judgment [i.e., in perpetuity].
[edit] Historical examples of Taqiyya
[edit] Sunni Uses
In the inquisition miḥna during the Caliphate of al-Mamun, a number of Sunni scholars used taqiyya, attesting to the Quran as having been created despite believing the opposite.[6]
[edit] Shi'i Uses
As a minority living under the political dominance of Sunni Muslims, Shii often protected themselves through prudence and caution. In Shii legal literature, there is a range of situations in which taqiyya may be used or even required. For Shii Muslims, taqiyya has two aspects: to conceal their association with the Imams when revealing it would result in danger, and protecting the esoteric teachings of the Imams from those who lack the capacity to grasp them.
[edit] Twelver Shia
Ayatollah Sistani describes the concept of taqiyya as follows:
1.Taqiyya is done for reasons of safety. For example, a person may fear that he might be killed or harmed if he does not observe taqiyya. In this case, taqiyya is obligatory.
2.Reconciliatory taqiyya. The purpose of this type of taqiyya is to reconcile with the other side or to soften their hearts. This kind of taqiyya is permissible but not obligatory.
3.Sometimes, taqiyya may cause a more important obligation to be lost or missed; if so it is forbidden. For example, when I know that silence would cause oppression and infidelity to spread and will make people go astray, in such a situation it is not permissible to be silent and to dissimulate.
4.Sometimes, taqiyya may lead to the death of an innocent person; if so, it is not permissible. It is therefore haram (forbidden) to kill a human being to save your own life.[7]
[edit] Ismaili Shia
For the Ismailis in the aftermath of the Mongol onslaught of the Alamut state in 1256 CE, the need to practice taqiyya grew greater than ever.[says who?] This was not only for the protection of the community itself, which was now stateless, but also for safeguarding the line of the Nizari Ismaili Imamate during this period of unrest. Accordingly, the Shii Imam al-Baqir stated Taqiyya is my religion and the religion of my ancestors, a tradition recorded in various sources including Kitāb al-Maḥāsin of Aḥmad b. Muhammad al-Barqī and the Daāim al-Islām of Qadī al-Nu mān.[8] Such periods in which the Imams are concealed are known as satr, however the term may also refer to times when the Imams were not physically hidden from view but rather when the community was required to practice precautionary dissimulation. During satr the Imam could only be accessed by his community and in extremely dangerous circumstances, would be accessible only to the highest ranking members of the Ismaili hierarchy (ḥudūd), whose function it was to transmit the teachings of the Imam to the community.
According to Shia scholar Muhammad Husain Javari Sabinal, Shiism would not have spread at all if not for taqiyya, referring to instances where Shi'a have been ruthlessly persecuted by the Sunni political elite during the Umayyad and Abbasid empires.[9] Indeed for the Ismailis, the persistence and prosperity of the community today owes largely to the careful safeguarding of the beliefs and teachings of the Imams during the Ilkhanate, Safawid dynasty, and other periods of persecution.
Further reading
Bar-Asher, Me'ir Mikha'el (1999). Scripture and Exegesis in Early Imami Shiism. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 90-04-11495-5
Cook, Michael (2003). Early Muslim Dogma: A Source-Critical Study. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-54572-2
Daftary, Farhad (1992). The Isma'ilis: Their History and Doctrines. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-42974-9
Hafizullah Emadi (1998). The end of taqiyya: reaffirming the religious identity of Ismailis in Shughnan, Badakhshan - political implications for Afghanistan. Middle Eastern Studies. 34(3), 103-120.
Hafizullah Emadi (2000). Praxis of taqiyya: perseverance of Pashaye Ismaili enclave, Nangarhar, Afghanistan. Central Asian Survey. 19(2), 253-264.
Firro, Kais (1999). The Druzes in the Jewish State: A Brief History. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 90-04-11251-0
Gleaves, Robert (2000). Inevitable Doubt. Two Theories of Shi'i Jurisprudence. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 90-04-11595-1
Misri, Ahmad ibn Naqib al- (1997). The Reliance of the Traveler, translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller, Amana Publications.
Virani, Shafique (2007). The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, A Search for Salvation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-531173-0
Taqiyya - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(pronounced as tagiyeh by speakers of Iranian Persian; alternate spelling taqiya) is derived from the Arabic triliteral root waw-qaf-ya, denoting "piety, devotion, uprightness, and godliness, and it means the brightest star",[2].
