Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West

by Raymond Ibrahim

final “Muslim uprising in 1499, and the crushing of this revolt in 1501, led to an edict that Muslims had to convert to Christianity or leave the peninsula.”131 Contrary to popular belief, the motivation was less religious and more political; it was less about making Muslims “good Christians” and more about making them “good citizens.” So long as they remained Muslim, they would remain hostile and disloyal to Christian Spain; and because secularism, atheism, and multiculturalism were not options then, the only practical way Muslims could slough off their tribalism was by embracing Christianity. Under such circumstances, sharia is clear: Muslims should try to emigrate. But there has always been one important caveat: whenever Muslims find themselves under infidel authority, they may say and do almost anything—denounce Muhammad, receive baptism and communion, venerate the cross, all anathema to Islam—so long as their hearts remain true to Islam. Such is the doctrine of taqiyya,* which has traditionally defined Islam’s modus operandi under non-Muslim authority.