4. DECEPTION IN ISLAM

Islam not only allows but also considers obligatory on a Muslim to deceive when faced with dominance of other faiths and as a corollary to promote Islam among non-believers. This deception – is known as 'taqiyya'.

Origins of taqiyya

As a doctrine, taqiyya was first codified by Shia Muslims, primarily as a result of their historical experience. Shias insisted that the caliphate rightly belonged to the Prophet Mohammed's cousin and son-in-law, Ali (and subsequently his descendants). Shia is a vocal and powerful branch of Islam that emerged following Mohammed's death and after the internal Islamic Fitna wars from the years 656 AD to 661 AD. However, the Shia remained a minority branch, persecuted by mainstream Muslims or Sunnis. Taqiyya became pivotal to Shia survival.

Practice of Taqiyya

Shia performs taqiyya by pretending to be Sunnis externally, while maintaining Shia beliefs internally to avoid Sunni persecution, as they constitute only 10% of Muslim population. In Saudi Arabia, for instance, Shias are deemed heretics, traitors and infidels by many of the Sunni majority and like other non-Sunni Muslims they are often persecuted.

Several of Saudi Arabia's highest clerics have even issued fatwas sanctioning killing of Shias. As a result, figures on the Arabian kingdom's Shia population vary wildly from as low as 1 per cent to nearly 20 per cent. Many Shias, living there, obviously choose to conceal their religious identity. As a result of some 1,400 years of Shia taqiyya, the Sunnis often accuse the Shias of being habitual liars, insisting that taqiyya is ingrained in Shia culture.

Conversely, the Sunnis did not conceal any aspect of their faith. They were rulers most of the time of history. However, today many Sunnis are finding themselves in the Shias' place: living as minorities in countries surrounded and governed by Christians (Western countries), Buddhists (Myanmer) and Jews (Israel), Atheists (Communist China) and Idolaters (India). Today Sunnis find them in countries where freedom of religion to all (Western) or none (Communist) is practiced. Sunnis have also started practicing taqiyya for concealing their religious beliefs. They show their confidence in democracy and secularism which is contrary to Islamic faith.

Taqiyya in general life

The primary Quranic verse sanctioning deception with respect to non-Muslims states: "Let believers not take for friends and allies from among infidels instead of believers. Whoever does this shall have no relationship left with Allah – unless he guards himself against those Infidels and their ways, taking precautions."

Al-Tabari's (838-923 AD) Tafsir, or Quranic exegeses, is essentially a standard reference in the entire Muslim world. He wrote: "If you [Muslims] are under their [infidels'] authority, fearing for yourselves, behave loyally to them, with your tongue, while harbouring inner animosity for them. Allah has forbidden believers from being friendly or be on intimate terms with the infidels in place of believers – except when infidels are above them [in authority]. In such a scenario, let them act friendly towards them."

The Islamic scholar Ibn Kathir (1301-1373) wrote: "Whoever at any time or place fears their [infidels'] evil, may protect himself through outward show." As proof of this, he quotes Mohammed's companion, Abu Darda: "Let us smile to the face of some people while our hearts curse them." Al-Hassan said: "Doing taqiyya is acceptable till the day of judgment." Other prominent ulemas also have extended taqiyya to cover deeds. Muslims can behave like infidels – from bowing down and worshipping idols and crosses to even exposing fellow Muslims to the infidel enemy – anything short of actually killing a fellow Muslim.

Muslims in India swears by secularism. But it is a taqiyya. Whenever power comes in Muslims hand they will follow sharia where secularism is taboo.

War is deceit

None of this should be surprising considering that Mohammed himself, who is an example of the "most perfect human", took an expedient view on the issue of deception. For instance, Mohammed permitted deceit in three situations: to reconcile two or more quarreling parties; husband to wife and vice-versa; and in war.

During the Battle of the Trench (627 AD), which pitted Muhammad and his followers against several non-Muslim tribes collectively known as "the Confederates", a Confederate called Naim bin Masud went to the Muslim camp and converted to Islam. When Muhammad discovered the Confederates were unaware of Masud's conversion, he advised him to return and try somehow to get his tribesmen to abandon the siege. "For war is deceit," Muhammad assured him. Masud went back and created distrust between various tribes until they abandoned the siege. According to this account, deceit saved Islam during its embryonic stage.

A poet, Kab bin al-Ashruf, had offended Mohammed by making derogatory verses about Muslim women. Mohammed exclaimed in front of his followers: "Who will kill this man who has hurt Allah and his prophet?"A young Muslim named Muhammad bin Maslama volunteered, but with the caveat that, in order to get close enough to Kab to assassinate him, he be allowed to lie to the poet. Mohammed agreed. Maslama traveled to Kab and began denigrating Islam and Mohammed, carrying on this way till his disaffection became convincing enough for Kab to take him into his confidences. Soon thereafter, Maslama appeared with another Muslim and, while Kab's guard was down, they assaulted and killed him. They ran to Mohammed with Kab's head, to which the latter cried: "Allahuakbar" or "God is great."

The entire sequence of Quranic revelations are a testimony to taqiyya and since Allah is believed to be the revealer of these verses, he ultimately is seen as the perpetrator of deceit. This is not surprising since Allah himself is often described in the Quran as the "best deceiver" or "schemer."

War is eternal

According to Islam war against the infidel goes on in perpetuity, until "all chaos ceases, and all religion belongs to Allah" (8:39). According to Islam, - The duty of the jihad exists as long as the universal domination of Islam has not been attained. Peace with non-Muslim nations is, therefore, a provisional state of affairs only. The circumstances alone can justify any truce with non-Muslim nations or entities. But it should be only temporary. There can be no question of genuine peace treaties with these nations; only truces, whose duration ought not, in principle, to exceed ten years. But even such truces maybe repudiated unilaterally before they expire, should it appear more profitable for Islam to resume the conflict.

The concept of obligatory jihad is best expressed by Islam's world view that pits Dar al Islam (House of Islam) against Dar al Harb (House of War or non-Muslims) until the former subsumes the latter. Muslim historian and philosopher, Ibn Khaldun (1332- 1406), articulated this division by saying: "In the Muslim community, holy war is a religious duty, because of the universalism of the Muslim mission and the obligation to convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force. The other religious groups did not have such universal mission and even the crusade was not a religious duty for Christians. It was at best a counter attack to defend Christianity. But Islam is under obligation to gain power over others."

Islam must be in a constant state of war with the non-Muslim world – which need not be physical, as radicals among the ulema have classified several non-literal forms of jihad, such as "jihad-of-the-pen" (propaganda), "money-jihad" (economic) and love-jihad. Muslims are permitted to lie and feign loyalty to the infidel where they are in minority but they must continue to further their war efforts against them. Offers of peace, tolerance or dialogue from extremist Muslims are just only Taqiyyia.

Deception in propagation of Islam

Muslim propagandists say that, it is a must that the teachings of Islam be spread through the aid of sound intellect, valid logic, and penetrating evidence. If convincing fails then force is used. However, when both convincing by logic and by force fails against stubborn beliefs and obstinacy of some persons, it becomes necessary to bring in falsehood like miracles. They opine that Allah aids His Prophets and saints with power of miracles so that they are able to impress people to right path. They are displayed only when there is a great emergency to justify them. In fact, these are used as a last remedy when all other persuasions fails to convince the 'devil' in man of the teachings and principles of the divine doctrines of Truth or the laws of God. Miracles form a great part of Sufi tradition. Obviously, Sufi saints utilized magic and all kinds of deceit to create miracles. Common illiterate people can thus be tricked into conversion. Miracles had been used to convert large number of people in India

Khwaja Gharib Nawaz's life and mission have always been associated with miracles. He is believed to bring life to a dead man, sight to blind, fill entire water of Anasagar lake in a Mashkiza (a small bag for carrying water) or cure a leper. A variety of miracles or 'Karamaat' are associated with the missionary works of such stalwarts as Ghos-ul-AzamHazrat Abdul Qadir Gilani of Baghdad, Hazrat Khwaja Usman Harooni, Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishty, Hazrat Khwaja Qotubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki of Delhi, Hazrat Baba Fariduddin GanjShakar of Pak Patan, Hazrat Makhdoom Alauddin Saabir of Kalyar, Hazrat Sheikh Nizamuddin Awliya of Delhi, Hazrat Sheikh Salim Chishty of Fatehpur Sikri and a scores of other Sufi saints of India, Persia and Arabia, too numerous to name.

In Bengal, Shah Makhdum Ruposh, who arrived in Rampur Boalia in Rajshahi in 1184 AD, is said to have crossed the river wearing a pair of wooden sandals (kharam). Conversion of large number of people to Islam is ascribed to this miracle. He is also said to have crossed the river on the back of a fish. Another story relates to Hazrat Shah Jalal (R) who is said to have crossed the river into Sylhet along with his disciples on a jainamaz (prayer rug). Reaching the opposite bank, he ordered the azan to be sounded, at which the magnificent palace of Gaur Govinda shattered. A legend ascribed to Hazrat Shah Paran relates how a piece of dead wood miraculously produced six different trees, which are still giving shade to his tomb.

These miracles were also a part of 'taqiyya'. Rumours were spread knowingly about miraculous power of Sufi saints. What force and coercion could not achieve, what jijiya and religious tax could not perform, and where temptation and lure failed, 'taqiyya' did. Poor and illiterate villagers and less Hinduized tribes could be impressed and converted to Islam.

Conclusion

There are no "moderate" Muslims – or, more specifically, secularized Muslims. A Muslim can pose secularism but actually hate non-believers belonging to all other religions or else he is committing apostasy. A Muslim can vouch for democracy but will opt for Sharia when he has an option.  And Sharia discriminates. A Muslim may talk of humanity but he is concerned with fellow Muslims only. Muslims donate more money in philanthropy than rest of the world put together but this money (zakat) is used only for Muslims and propagation of Islam. But taqiyya has one benefit. Taquiya permits Muslims to integrate with others and to learn about humanity, secularism, democracy and so on and so forth. This enlightenment will slowly bring humanism among some Muslims. It may take years of education, secularism, democracy & personal freedom to ride over Taquiya. It will result in evolution of non-practicing Muslims. Only non-practicing Muslims in large number can reduce the venom of Islam. A practicing Muslim is dormant extremist. He cannot be trusted even though he professes his faith in democracy and secularism. It is only Taqiyya.

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