taqiyya 2

A good example of Muslim dissembling occurred during the recent war between Lebanon and Israel. Most of the world's press labelled Israel as the aggressor, whereas it was Hezbollah who began it. In Israel the press were allowed a fairly free rein, but Hezbollah tightly controlled information, and frankly lied. As I said yesterday a Muslim is allowed to lie in war.

An open society, Israel, is victimized by its own openness," Marvin Kalb and Dr. Carol Saivetz of the Shorenstein Center of Harvard University concluded in their research paper, "The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006: The Media as a Weapon in Asymmetrical Conflict"

In the Second Lebanon War, Hezbollah limited access to Western reporters, "orchestrated" events and manipulated journalists with threats of expulsion if they violated its reporting rules. And the press largely complied with the restrictions that were "reminiscent of the Soviet era," Kalb and Saivetz found.

In one example cited by the paper, on a tour of a Shi'ite neighborhood of Beirut damaged by IAF air strikes, Hezbollah warned reporters not to "wander off on their own or speak to residents" and to photograph only approved sights. If the press violated these rules, "cameras would be confiscated, film or tape destroyed, and offending reporters would never be allowed access to Hezbollah officials or Hezbollah-controlled areas."

At one point, apparently on cue, a Hezbollah minder signaled for ambulances to rev up their engines, set off their sirens and drive noisily down the street. The scene was orchestrated, designed to provide a photo op, and reporters went along for the ride."

On August 3, Human Rights Watch specifically accused Israel of war crimes. Few seemed to note that before the war, on May 27, Nasrallah had actually—and publicly—embraced the guerrilla tactic of hiding soldiers among civilians. “[Hezbollah fighters] live in their houses, in their schools, in their churches, in their fields, in their farms and in their factories,” he said, adding, “You can’t destroy them in the same way you would destroy an army.”

Israel defended its military operations by citing two relevant articles in international law: using civilians for military cover was a war crime, and any target with soldiers hiding among civilians was considered a legitimate military target. Israel’s defense, though, fell on deaf ears, not only among diplomats but also reporters, as daily evidence mounted of civilian deaths.

The paper is too long to summarize. I have given the link; click on it and make up your own mind.

You might ask how could the world's press be so gullible? They have come to expect Western politicians to routinely lie to them, surely they should be more skeptical? I guess the answer is that they always tend to favor the underdog. But they should learn the lesson of taqiyya. In war it is regarded as correct for a Muslim to tell lies.

Here are a few well known lies propagated as Islamized knowledge:

Napoleon Bonaparte converted to Islam.
Muslim explorers reached America before Christopher Columbus.
Islam arrived in Australia in the 9th century.
Offa, the 8th century Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia (famous for Offa's Dyke which kept the Welsh out of the British Midlands) was a Muslim.
Women are equal to men in Islam.

This last is often said when Westerners insist that Islam is anti-woman. Yet under Shari'a women receive a smaller inheritance and less compensation for injuries than men and their worth as a witness in atrial is less than that of a male witness. The rules for divorce are biased against women. In most Muslim countries women suffer from second rate status, are more likely to be illiterate and are treated unfairly in divorce and other legal proceedings.