In Islamic tradition, Taqiyya (التقية - 'fear,
guard against')[1] is the dispensation allowing believers to
conceal their faith when under threat, persecution or
compulsion. It is based on Qur'an verses 3:28 and 16:106 as well
as hadith, tafsir literature, and juridical commentaries.[2]
Some Sunnis assert that Taqiyya is an act of hypocrisy that
serves to conceal the truth. According to them, Taqiyya
constitutes a lack of faith and trust in God because the person
who conceals his beliefs to spare himself from danger is fearful
of humans, when he should be fearful of God only.
The word "al-Taqiyya" literally means: "Concealing or disguising
one's beliefs, convictions, ideas, feelings, opinions, and/or
strategies at a time of eminent danger, whether now or later in
time, to save oneself from physical and/or mental injury." A
one-word translation would be "Dissimulation."
|
