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Taqiyya
Taqiyya refers to a legal dispensation which allows Muslims to conceal and/or deny their religious beliefs in order to avoid persecution. In Shia jurisprudence, it is a recourse in extremity and is accepted as a valid form of self-preservation. In Sunni Islam, by contrast, the validity of Taqiyya is far from settled. While some Sunnis accept Taqiyya as valid, others have argued that it is illegitimate because:
It puts worldly security above salvation in the hereafter.
It puts the fear of other human beings above the fear of Allah.
Term Variants: Takiya, Taqiya, Taqiyah, Taqiyyah
How this term should be used
Journalists and editors who wish to refer to the concept of Taqiyya must take care that they do so without giving the impression that it is a form of mandated dissimulation. The circumstances in which concealing one’s faith is permitted are limited to those in which Muslims are under the threat of persecution. Furthermore, we advise that journalists make an effort to reflect that the validity of the doctrine – though settled in Shia Islam – is still being contested by Sunni scholars.
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Examples of Usage
Example 1:
“Trump campaign woes grow amid questions over Melania’s visa.”
Excerpt:
If the break point is sharia, and Islam is the only major religion that encourages lying, ” Nehlen said, referring to the term taqiyya, which refers to concealing one’s religion when facing persecution, which has since been misinterpreted by anti-Muslim polemicists as proof that Muslims cannot be trusted.
This is an example of accurate usage. The term “taqiyya” is defined in a manner that is consistent with its aims and the writer makes it clear that the dispensation has been misinterpreted to fuel anti-Islamic sentiment.
Example 2:
“Has the Guardian stuffed itself?”
Excerpt:
Now, reversing reality so that the attribution of actual attitudes or behaviour is switched from one side to the other is a standard Islamic variation on the religiously sanctioned practice of taqiyya – mandated lying or distortion in the cause of Islam. The Islamic world constantly uses it against Israel and the Jews; for example, denying the Holocaust while claiming Israel is perpetrating genocide in Gaza, or claiming a ‘right of return’ (to someone else’s country) in mimicry of the right of return to Israel for Jews.
This is an example of very inaccurate usage. Melanie Phillips, writing in the Spectator, defines the concept of taqiyah as “mandated lying or distortion in the cause of Islam”. The use of the word “mandated” is particularly problematic because it implies that Muslims are being obliged to lie. Moreover, the characterisation of taqiyah as distortion in the “cause of Islam” bears no resemblance to the legal dispensation as defined above, which permits the concealment of one’s beliefs only as an act of self-preservation.
Even if the “Islamic world” (sic) were to deny the Holocaust (this is itself a baseless claim), it would not be taqiyah, as to do so would not qualify as a means of avoiding religious persecution. The other claims that taqiyah is being used to give the impression that “Israel is perpetrating genocide in Gaza” or “’claiming a ‘right of return’ (to someone else’s country)…” are similarly inaccurate, and demonstrate a misunderstanding of the term.