Tehran, August 31, The Iran Project - Human society comprises multiple cultures and micro cultures. The followers of any religion or cult are duty-bound to respect the way of thinking and opinions of other religions and refrain from belittlement and intimidation of other religions.

Otherwise, taking advantage of its superior position, the dominant culture would impose its way of thinking on heterodox cultures.

To have a community in peace and calm, the citizens' civil rights must be accorded not based on their religion or their way of thinking and every person for the mere sake of being a human must be entitled to social rights and be safe from intimidation and threat of other people.

However, in multiple instances from history when there was a confrontation between a dominant culture and a subjugated culture, the dominant one would try to impose its way of thinking on the other and even at points attempt to take life and security from the other. In such circumstances, the normal practice with the minority groups that were faced with losing their lives and security as a result of their religion was to forbear from expressing their beliefs and even in case of mounting pressure, to pretend to follow the thinking of their foes.

In Shi'ism, this wise deed which is protecting one's life in insecure places via concealment of one's religious beliefs and feigning advocacy of the others' beliefs is called Taqiyyah.

In various instances, observing this wise deed in case of pressure and intimidation has been recommended by either the grand prophet (PBUH) or the infallible Imams (PBUH).

For example, among other notable Quran commentators, Fakhr al-Razi in Tafsir al-Kabir or Rasyid Ridha in Tafsir al-Manar have referred to the story of Musailma Kazzab. This person did not accept the prophethood of prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and himself claimed to be a prophet.  He nabbed two followers of prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and asked one whether he testified to Musailma's prophethood; he replied yes and was released; the second one, yet, said no and was killed at the hands of Musailma. When the grand prophet (PBUH) learned of this, he said that the one killed acted on his conviction and honesty and (martyrdom) would be a reward for him , and the one who secured his life is not to blame due to the permission (Taqiyyah) granted to him in Islam…

Accordingly, Imam Sadiq (PBUH) said, 'Taqiyyah is a shield for believers; one who refrains from practicing it is not a believerAbdullah bin Ajlan said that he once told Imam Sadiq (PBUH) that Zahhak, one of the ardent enemies of Hazrat Ali (PBUH), had risen to power and that they would soon be asked to disavow Hazrat Ali (PBUH), so what should be done? Imam Sadiq (PBUH) said, "Disavow Imam Ali (PBUH)"; Ajlan said, "which one do you prefer: (expressing the truth and sacrificing oneself on the path of truth, or resort to Taqiyyah)?" Imam replied, "Our followers must behave the same way Ammar bin Yassir behaved regarding the holy prophet (PBUH)".

Therefore, Taqiyyah is not an exclusive Shia practice and all Muslims throughout history have adopted this wise move. Following the emergence of Islam, idolaters placed proselytes to Islam under extreme pressure and torture so that they voice blasphemy against the holy prophet and stop following the prophet and embracing Islam.

Yasir and Sumayyah were a Muslim couple who despite idolaters' torture forbore from expressing non-allegiance to Islam and were martyred. Ammar, their child, who saw the brutality and savagery of the enemies of Islam, agreed to utter blasphemy against the prophet and to feign disavowing Islam in order to save his life. Sadly, he came to the holy prophet (PBUH) and deeply regretted his action. Contrary to his and other Muslims' expectation, the prophet commended Ammar's action and referred to him as a person Islam was embedded in his soul and body entirely. The prophet also added that in the event of the reoccurrence of such incidents for him, he could again express disbelief in order to save his life. According to the holy Quran:

The one who disbelieved after his belief in Allah, is different from a person who under persecution has been compelled to utter blasphemy and his heart was full of Faith. (Surah An-Nahl, Ayat: 106)

Therefore, Taqiyyah is not an exclusive Shia practice; it neither means lying nor breaching social and political commitments. Rather, it is saving one's life via concealing one's religious beliefs against ideological despots. Maybe to attribute Taqiyyah to Shiism stems from this historical fact that the Shia followers have deemed oppressive and despotic rulers illegitimate and defied them and have more than other people from other religions and cultures been subject to pressure and thus they have adopted this wise move more than others.

Considering the above, we learned:

Taqiyyah is a logical guideline to save the life of people of a faith under intimidating circumstances and is not exclusively a Shia practice.

The Shia like all free-thinking people disapprove lying and breaching social commitments and for years along with their coreligionists and others have cried the slogan of honesty and loyalty to social treaties and contracts.

By Majid Kiani