Fitzgerald: A peculiar poll
jihad watch dot org
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Both the figures of the new Pew Research Center poll of Muslims in America, and the poll itself, far understate the problem.
As to the figures. It should be obvious, both by study of Islamic doctrines and by observation that Islam is a belief-system in which deception has always played a major role. There is, for example, "taqiyya," a doctrine that originates in Shi'a Islam. It is religiously-sanctioned dissimulation, originally made necessary because of Sunni persecution and murder of Shi'a, who felt they needed justification for lying about both the nature of their faith, and their belief in it. Like the related "Kitman" (mental reservation), it is also widely practiced by Sunnis.
Indeed, Muhammad, the central figure in Islam, famously said that "war is deception." This matters, for Muhammad is the Model of Perfect Conduct, uswa hasana, the Perfect Man To Be Emulated and Followed in All Things, al-insan al-kamil. His every word, his every deed, is pored over, as conveyed in the stories known as the Hadith, or traditions. Every detail of his life as preserved in the canonical biography, the Sira, is pored over as a guide -- a guide both to the full meaning of the Qur'an (both Hadith and Sira offering a kind of gloss), and for the submissive Believer's own conduct.
Both the figures of the new Pew Research Center poll of Muslims in America, and the poll itself, far understate the problem.
As to the figures. It should be obvious, both by study of Islamic doctrines and by observation that Islam is a belief-system in which deception has always played a major role. There is, for example, "taqiyya," a doctrine that originates in Shi'a Islam. It is religiously-sanctioned dissimulation, originally made necessary because of Sunni persecution and murder of Shi'a, who felt they needed justification for lying about both the nature of their faith, and their belief in it. Like the related "Kitman" (mental reservation), it is also widely practiced by Sunnis.
Indeed, Muhammad, the central figure in Islam, famously said that "war is deception." This matters, for Muhammad is the Model of Perfect Conduct, uswa hasana, the Perfect Man To Be Emulated and Followed in All Things, al-insan al-kamil. His every word, his every deed, is pored over, as conveyed in the stories known as the Hadith, or traditions. Every detail of his life as preserved in the canonical biography, the Sira, is pored over as a guide -- a guide both to the full meaning of the Qur'an (both Hadith and Sira offering a kind of gloss), and for the submissive Believer's own conduct.
posted by jillosophy at 5/23/2007 11:20:00 AM
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