Islam Vs. the West 1.1: so what’s the big deal?

I think I’ll break this down into small, bite-sized chunks for anyone who wishes to discuss. Heck, if a literate Muslim can be found to make argument with these bite-sized notes, I’d welcome the dialog.

So, just one difference per post, OK?

In general, Muslim societies and Western societies have a great divide when it comes to individuals either telling the truth or lying. There is a general agreement that lying is bad, except…

Among Muslims, lying to a family member, particularly a subordinate member of a family lying to a superordinate member. But all other lies fall into the “it’s only bad if you get caught and there are consequences you cannot avoid” category. Otherwise, lying to anyone to gain an advantage is actually viewed as a virtue. And lying to non-Muslims is a virtue enshrined into the teachings of Islam as al taqiya, so-called “holy lies.”

And no, lies by so-called “moderate” Muslims that this is not true Islam are exposed by the simple method of examining the life and work of the founder of Islam. After all, Mohammed’s first “great victory”–the slaughter, pillage and enslavement of the Jews of what is now called Medina–was the direct result of Mohammed lying to the Jews in order to effect their surrender. This is bloody, savage, treacherous event is celebrated by all Muslims during Hijrat, and in fact, it is the treachery at Medina that marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar!

By contrast, while lies abound among Western societies (for we are all human, are we not?), the only lies that are considered (wrongly, most likely) virtuous are those we tend to call “white lies” that are intended to shield the innocent from harm, or lies where someone takes unearned blame upon themselves to protect someone they love or hold in high esteem. Lies that are only designed to advance one person’s ambitions, for example, are always at the expense of someone else, and so are almost universally regarded in Western societies as wrong (even by those who commit them, else they’d not hide their lies and vigorously defend themselves from exposure).

Here’s the rub: as a matter of principle, whenever a Muslim tells you something you want to hear, you’d better check behind you for the knife in your back.

When a Westerner does the same, check, but you’ll be muuuuch less likely to find the knife already planted there.

Remember: al taqiyah. “Holy deception” or “holy lies”–something specifically taught by Mohammed as a virtue. If we look to the other side of the aisle, recall that Jesus consistently condemned liars, and in fact referred to liars as “sons of the devil” (because “devil/diabolos” means “liar, traducer, false accuser”).

So, difference number 1: One is much safer assuming ALL words from the mouth of a Muslim are lies, until overwhelming, tangible, verifiable evidence to the contrary is right in front of us.

After all, they’d not be a good Muslim if they didn’t emulate the liar, Mohammed, now would they?

OTOH, there’s just a chance that the person who calls himself a Christian and grew up in a Western society may be actually observing the virtues espoused by Western society and by the founder of the religion he espouses, and so may be telling the truth.

To repeat myself: before leaving ANY contact with a practicing Muslim, always count your fingers. He’ll have tried to steal one or more of them (and tell you he was only borrowing them to clean them up a bit).

Why this cultural propensity to value lies among Muslims? The reasons are legion, and they are also the subject of another post.