JORAS - Nigerian Journal of Religion and Society

Lying in the service of altruism is considered despicable by all religions, but to think that Muslims are allowed to dissimulate in furtherance of Islam is worrisome. While the Qur'an is against Muslims deceiving Muslims— “for surely, Allah guides not him who is prodigal and a liar.” To lie to non-Muslims generally known in Arabic as Taqiyya, does not only have qur'anic backing, but also fall within the legal category of things that are permissible to Muslim. This paper will analyse the social purpose of the term taqiyya in social interaction between Muslims and non-Muslims, especially on the table of dialogue in polemical societies.

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