Taqiyya: War and Deceit in Islam

Abstract

Today, at a time of wars and rumors of wars emanating from the Islamic world—from the perpetual Arab-Israeli conflict, to the saber-rattling of nuclear-armed Pakistan and soon-to-be Iran, to the myriad and unnamed jihadis who daily promise “infidels” death and destruction—the need for non-Muslims to better understand Islam’s doctrines and objectives concerning war and peace, and everything in between (e.g., treaties) has become pressing. For instance, what does one make of the fact that, after openly and vociferously making it clear time and time again that its ultimate aspiration is to see Israel annihilated, an Islamist organization like Hamas also pursues “peace treaties,” insisting on various forms of concessions from Israel—and receives them? Moreover, even if the “true” nature of Islam were peaceful, that would not change the fact that some Muslims will assume, and therefore act upon the notion, that Islam does preach jihadi violence. In other words, many apologists for Islam concede that the “radical” interpretation is still that, an interpretation, albeit a flawed one, that “hijacks” the true Islam. And since that is the case, since “radical Islam,” whether the true face of Islam or not, is still nonetheless a viable alternative for some, the West must conclude that it will have violent jihadist enemies for the foreseeable future.