The Art of Deception

Submitted by Prof. Paul Eidelberg (Israel), Apr 20, 2010 at 09:25

Another fine article by Dr. Pipes. However, we need to go further. We need to ask "What is the difference between the lies of a Muslim leader and the lies of an American leader?

The Muslim leader lies to deceive his enemies. The American leader lies to deceive to his own people. How are we to explain this contrast?

The Muslim leader lies because he has been imbued in the Islamic art of dissimulation, "taqiyya," a military doctrine best revealed by Raymond Ibrahim in the Winter 2010 edition of the Middle East Quarterly (http://www.meforum.org/2538/taqiyya-islam-rules-of-war).

The American leader lies—e.g., calls Islam a "religion of peace"—because he lacks the intellectual integrity or political courage to tell the truth, which might arouse hostile passions. This is called "political correctness." Mr. Obama can therefore run circles around Americans.

But what needs to be emphasized is this: The lack of intellectual integrity on the part of American leaders regarding our most dangerous enemy is leading to America's demise.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".