Taqqiya (protective discretion) among the Moriscos

Abstract

Taqqiya (protective discretion) is considered one of the most
controversial issues in the Muslim doctrines; it was permitted by
some Muslim jurists but prohibited by others. For Sunni Muslim
scholars practicing Taqqiya is generally considered forbidden and
only permissible when necessary. However, for Shia Muslims
practicing Taqqiya is generally considered permissible in a way
that is confined by a set of rules different from that of the Sunni
Muslims. This paper focuses on Moriscos’s, who follow Maliki
doctrine of Islam, stance over the issue of Taqqiya (protective
discretion) and the extent to which they believe in it, especially
during the rise of the new era which was characterized by
excessive violence and hideous torture to force them into
renouncing their religion in what is now known as the forced
evangelization of Andalusian Muslims. The mission
of persecuting Muslims was assigned to merciless clergymen who
were involved in the notorious inquisition to force confessions out
of the Muslims. The journey of torture in Spanish prisons
involved bone breaking, impalement, cutting off tongues, mass
burn, life imprisonment, and other methods of torture. To escape
these types of torture, Muslims had to publicly announce their
conversion to Christianity while practicing their ancestors’
religion in private. This pretense is known as Taqqiya in the
Islamic jurisprudence. Muslim jurists had to permit this practice
in order to allow the Muslims in Spain to keep their lives and
religion.