Dr. Ben Carson’s recent assertion that the Islamic doctrine of taqiyya encourages Muslims “to lie to achieve your goals” has prompted the Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler to quote a number of academics to show that the presidential candidate got it wrong:
The word “taqiyya” derives from the Arabic words for “piety” and “fear of God” and indicates when a person is in a state of caution, said Khaled Abou El Fadl, a professor of law at the University of California at Los Angeles and a leading authority on Islam.
[…]
“Yes, it is permissible to hide the fact you are Muslim” if a person is under threat, “as long as it does not involve hurting another person,” Abou El Fadl said.
The other academics whom Kessler quotes—including Omid Safi, director of the Duke University Islamic Studies Center, and Noah Feldman of Harvard Law School—make the same argument: yes, taqiyya is in the Koran but it only permits deception in the case of self-preservation, nothing more.
Not exactly.
Although the word taqiyya is related to the Arabic word “piety” and its root meaning is “protect” or “guard against”—and the Koran verses that advocate it (3:28 and 16:106) do so in the context of self-preservation from persecution—that is not the whole story.
None of the academics quoted by Kessler bothered to acknowledge that the Koran is not the only textual source to inform Muslim action. They ignore the Hadith, the collected words and deeds of Muhammad. Koran 33:2, for instance, commands Muslims to follow Muhammad’s example, and his example—also known as the prophet’s Sunna—is derived from the many volumes of Hadith.
The importance of Muhammad’s example is seen in that the Sunnis, approximately 90% of the world’s Muslim population, are named after his Sunna. As one Muslim cleric puts it, “Much of Islam will remain mere abstract concepts without Hadith [whence the Sunna is derived]. We would never know how to pray, fast, pay zakah, or make pilgrimage without the illustration found in Hadith…”
It is therefore careless or disingenuous for Kessler and his “experts” to ignore Muhammad’s example as recorded in the Hadith in their discussion of taqiyya.
As usual, for the complete truth, one must turn to scholarly books written in Arabic. According to Dr. Sami Mukaram, an Islamic studies professor specializing in taqiyya, and author of the only academic book exclusively devoted to it, “Taqiyya in order to deceive the enemy is permissible.”
This sounds similar to Carson’s assertion that taqiyya allows Muslims “to lie to achieve your goals.”
As proof, Mukaram documents two canonical anecdotes from Muhammad’s Sunna—his example to Muslims—that make clear that the prophet allowed his followers to lie and deceive non-Muslims above and beyond the issue of self-preservation…

Dexter Wislon says
Is it not interesting that a Muslim can lie about their Islamic relationship, but a Christian is required not to deny his Savior even to save his own life.
Angemon says
Dr. Ben Carson – islam allows muslins to lie in order to achieve their goals.
Washington Post – Let’s ask a knowledgeable muslim.
Knowledgeable muslim – No, it doesn’t.
If you can spot the critical flaw in that example, congratulations – you’re smarter than the people working in the Washington Post.
Dexter Wilson says
I don’t know about a critical flaw, but you and I know that a Christian must not deny his Savior, where a Muslim can to protect his life. Even if they say they can not lie in any other case, explain to me why Jefferson hid the fact that we were a Christian Nation when getting a Treaty Signed with a Muslim Ruler? The Truth is they can lie to anyone and for any reason if that person or nation is an unbeliever or a nation of unbelievers. So they can lie to keep from being killed, we Christians can’t!!!!!!!!!
Christopher H says
Shaking my head. “Fox + Henhouse”? Good grief the Post people are gullible!
Dan says
I just don’t get this bit about “Good Muslims” and “Bad Muslims”
It’s a moot argument for two reasons.
First, there ARE Muslims who practice Taqiyya in order to deceive, harm and butcher infidels, and second, even if only ONE PERCENT of Muslims (And we all know it’s much higher) support actions by terrorism, it only takes a VERY, VERY, VERY small percentage of ANY population to wreak havoc.
How many people did it it take to build and maintain the Twin Towers and four jet airliners, yet less than twenty people (And I know they had to have a support network too, so yeah I’ll allow a few hundred more but that’s it.) destroyed hundreds of millions of dollars and man hours.
The Muslims that want to live in peace, FINE, none of us have any problems with them.
It’s the rest.
Ironically, somebody compared Islamists to locusts.
Forever, scientists have been trying to find where locusts come from – there have never been any eggs found, or any nymph stages – and a decade or so ago it was discovered that locusts were sort of a rampaging Hulk version of ordinary grasshoppers.
It seems, in normal populations, grasshoppers just bounce around enjoying lives with the rest of the insect/animal world but, if their populations get too thick, so thick they’re constantly against each other, the incessant rubbing of the spikes on their hind legs triggers a metamorphosis, and they turn into the destructive swarms that ravage the countryside.
Kind of interesting, that it’s population concentration triggering such behavior in both.
Western Canadian says
In the case of muslims, the minimum number to induce a frenzy is about a couple of dozen…..
Alpo Yksikivi says
“The Muslims that want to live in peace, FINE, none of us have any problems with them.”
However, there are none of those.
The suburb where I live has seen increase of immigrants in huge numbers over the past 8 years, there was no muslims here when I moved in, now they seem to the majority. Many of my close neighbors are muslims, have been so about 6 years now. And, they simply can not live in peace, none of them.
They always have the need to confront, on every issue, and when there is no issues in hand I’m absolutely sure they are spending their time trying to figure out one, so they can continue to confront and especially win, conquer. There is no issue too small for them.
Even when proven to be wrong, they are not able to give in and not even able to compromise. They will just lie and fight until they get things the way they demand.
Yes, it is true that not all muslims are world-class terrorists. But no muslim want to live in piece among infidels. They even fight against each others in case there are no infidels to fight against. It is all over the very same, be it conflicts between states/countries or conflicts between families in a tiny suburb.
Screeminmeeme says
The difference between jihadists and ”moderate” Muslims is the distance they place between themselves and the bomb.
joyce bagby says
Why is the American public not upset at the uselessness of almost all of our news agencies? They don’t report facts anymore so much as they report what they want us to believe the facts are. The word journalism and journalists has lost the meaning it once had. Our young people have no idea that the crap we’re fed as “news” is propaganda.
Our news agencies and many of our politicians are Islamic loving American hating sniveling cowardly bootlickers. All Americans who want to maintain our liberties as outlined in the Constitution need to stand up and speak out — political correctness is a double bind, a trap to take away our free speech. The islamification of the world is meant to take away our personal choice as to what faith if any we choose to follow. Any faith that is in direct opposition of our Constitution is not a religion, it is a political organization intent upon the tyranny of all free peoples. Is it really asking too much of the news and politicians to report the truth of Islam’s tenets? Really – is it my fault the truth looks bad for Islam? Built on the foundation of human suffering and subjugation of any and all other religious or political entities? Hiding the truth of the tenets of Islam should alarm and frighten ALL AMERICANS regardless of beliefs.
Third, I realize the huge misunderstanding taking place as to the debate of our 2nd Amendment rights here in the United States. My right to bear arms is not about hunting deer with an AK-47. It’s not about hunting. I and all other Americans that love our liberties and freedoms our veterans have fought to preserve for us demand our right to bear arms to preserve our nation from tyranny. The 2nd Amendment is about preserving our Constitution and defending this nation. If you don’t think Islam is a tyranny intent on destroying this country and denying us our freedom and liberty than we should redefine the word “think.” It will be a huge relief and blessing to those Americans who foolishly seem intent on giving away these rights that we God fearing, gun toting conservative Americans will defend their right to be as stupid as imaginable while we defend ourselves from tyranny. By the way, my liberal comrades, pray tell me exactly what great things Islam has done for America? I cannot think of a single one and if you aren’t alarmed and distressed that our supposed Christian president is making such bizarre statements then we better change the definition of the word “think’ in all the dictionaries too.
Rodakowski says
There are 3 things I tell (non-religious/Christian) people they *must* know when discussing the political ideology cloaked as a religion, Islam.
1) There are THREE texts that form the basis of Islam. THREE. If you only cite the Koran when discussing (defending) Islam, you’re only citing from 14% of the total Islamic trilogy. When an apologist cites only the Koran, be wary of what they aren’t telling you (or oftentimes, simply don’t know). Most westerners have never heard of the Hadith or Sira.
2) Lying is condoned in the Koran, even forsaking their god. In fact you can tell how central “taqiyya” is by how many names or iterations it has, such as kitman. Why would anyone want to put their eternal salvation into the hands of a person or system that will knowingly lie?
3) Abrogation is central to Islam. That’s how you can account for the dualism found in the Koran. Mohammed preached peace in Mecca – then preached murder in Medina. According to him he didn’t change his mind, Allah just told him the things he was doing now were more important and what should now be followed versus back when he was much less successful at gaining converts.
It appears that Professor Abou El Fadl glossed right over 2 of the 3 things that I believe most westerners would find dubious about Islam. Jeesh – is it really that hard to find intellectuals (at the WaPo_ that know NOTHING about Islam so they don’t even know the right questions to ask?
Dexter Wilson says
Again I agree completely. Let them explain why President Jefferson’s treaty with a Muslim leader clearly made no reference to the fact that America at that time was a Christian Nation. You and I both know that on any document or treaty at that time period would state “In The Year Of Our Lord” which is notably lacking in that Treaty. Tell every one of the candidates how to answer these hypocrites who know very well how Muslims have no problem with slavery (they would enslave American Sailors and that was one of the things we dealt with back then. And they have not changed.) They treat women even in marriage and their female children as chattel, make Christian and any other women slaves. If Sharia gets a foothold in this country which in Wisconsin and (they tried in Texas) and other states as well, they will not quite until they have control of the nation. They will NOT assimilate.
joyce bagby says
I have another question. Why were none of the following resources used in this article?
http://www.politicalislam.com
http://www.wikiislam.com
CSPI. International
Heaven forbid, how about these fake news reporters actually go to the sacred texts of Islam and see what the books say? It is unkind but this is a darn near perfect example of cowardly bootlicking while shamefully hiding in ignorance. No sense in letting the facts get in the way of this reporter. A wonderful example of circular reasoning too. Reminds me of the U.N. making Saudi Arabia the head of a Human Rights Violation Committee. Wow, I bet that will be factual information the world can use to be a better place … for all … Islamic Muslins who adore the word of Mohammed after he went to Medina. Get the facts, pass it on.