Just discovered something interesting - a Muslim precept called Al-taqiyya, dissimulation. It's OK to say something that isn't true, in times of necessity, as long as in your heart you know what's true.
islamic-paths.org
al-islam.org
This site argues that Al-taqiyya means that it's not only OK to lie to an unbeliever, it's a good work.
hauns.com
This probably explains it best:
>>Some of the Moriscos practiced taqiyya. Taqiyya is an Arabic word literally
meaning caution . It came to be used as a technical term in Islamic law meaning
dissimulation . It is a type of legal dispensation which allows the Muslim believer
to deny his or her faith or commit otherwise illegal or blasphemous acts when in
danger of losing life, limb, or property. The Islamic principle became very important
in Spain in the course of the sixteen century, as the Muslims of Granada, Castile,
Aragon, Valencia, and Navarre were forced to convert to Christianity and then
became crypto-Muslims, practicing Islam only in secret. Below, you will read a
fatwa, or legal responsum, which a Muslim jurist in Algeria issued allowing Muslims
in Spain to make extensive use of taqiyya in order to maintain their faith despite the
strict restrictions placed on them by Christian authorities.<<
nyu.edu |
