today's new word: Taqiyya

The Religion Report at ABC Radio National today includes a segment interviewing David Henshaw, executive producer of Undercover Mosque and Undercover Mosque: The Return, the latter being an investigation of what's being taught at Regent's Park Mosque in Central London (also known as London Central Mosque). Central to the discussion is the notion of taqiyya, variously rendered as

• "Concealing or disguising one's beliefs, convictions, ideas, feelings, opinions, and/or strategies at a time of imminent danger, whether now or later in time, to save oneself from physical and/or mental injury"
• "Sometimes talked about in Islam that you're not under any obligation under the Muslim moral code, to tell the truth to non-Muslims."
• "The traditional idea that you can lie to the unbeliever, that's not a sin."

I'm sure there are others; I've just given two from Henshaw and one from Wikipedia.

All this makes for fascinating storytelling, and speaks to the issue of whether anyone can believe someone they're speaking to about a contentious issue, whether leading questions reveal anyone's true beliefs, and whether documentary filmmaking is helpful in exploring difficult issues.

I'm torn: there doesn't appear to be a neutral place to stand on the issue of the influence of Wahhabism in Muslim London. Never mind the related issue of demographic issues, Londonistan, and the future of the United Kingdom.

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