[knighthawk]

Reflections of an American Muslim

We all know islam contradicts itself all the time. From the article:

"There are no absolute justifications in Islam and the Prophet has asked us to tell truth even under the harshest circumstances of oppression. However, one may choose not to tell the truth when:

a. He is under oppression and there is danger of losing his life if he told the truth."

Also the article fails to mention another lie: that of lying to unbelievers:

From the hadith of Bukhari, Volume 5, Number 369:

Narrated Jabir Abdullah:
Allah's messenger said "Who is willing to kill Ka`b bin al-Ashraf who has hurt Allah and His apostle?" Thereupon Maslama got up saying, "O Allah's messenger! Would you like that I kill him?" The prophet said, "Yes". Maslama said, "Then allow me to say a (false) thing (i.e. to deceive Ka`b). The prophet said, "You may say it."

[js1138]

My own thought is that lying is like using a gun. We have uses for guns that have no moral implications -- target practice. Similarly, actors can utter untruths on stage that have no moral implications.

We lie in self defense, just as we use guns in self defense. In both cases there can be false justifications, and we do not need to accept everything at face value.

A lie is a kind of force. To justify its use is to justify the use of force. When someone justifies lying, it tells you a lot about their character.