Thread by @EFischberger

How do Islamists like Mohsen Mahdawi, Mahmoud Khalil, and even Mehdi Hasan infiltrate institutions, manipulate media, and win sympathy in the West?

Simple: Through a set of Islamic doctrines that explicitly permit deception—as long as it serves the cause

Let's break some down🧵

🔸 Taqiyya: Originally developed for Shi’a Muslims under persecution, taqiyya allows someone to lie about their beliefs or intentions if telling the truth would cause danger.
Radical Islamists have weaponized this to publicly pose as moderates, while secretly supporting extremism

🔸 Kitmān: While taqiyya is about active deception, kitmān is about strategic silence. It’s the calculated omission of information to mask radical beliefs, allowing Islamists to blend into institutions, avoid detection, and operate freely

🔸 Al-Ma‘ārīḍ – “Say something technically true that misleads.”
This is the art of deceptive ambiguity. You say something in a misleading way that it sounds innocent—but hides your true intent.
Perfect for press interviews, public statements, and legal testimony.

🔸 Tawriya – “Use double meanings to deceive without guilt.”
Closely related to al-Ma‘ārīḍ, tawriya allows someone to say something that has two meanings—one innocent, one sinister.
The listener assumes the innocent one. The speaker hides behind plausible deniability.

🔸 Hiyal: “Game the system with religious loopholes.”
These are tricks used to obey the letter of Islamic law while breaking its spirit.
Radicals use hiyal to move money through “charities,” skirt terror financing laws or appear compliant with Western norms while advancing jihad

🔸 Darūra – “The ends justify the means.”
This doctrine allows Muslims to violate prohibitions—even major ones—when in a situation of necessity.
And for radicals, everything is “necessary”: lying, cheating, or even temporary sin is allowed if it helps advance Islam and Jihadism

🔸 Taysīr & Rukhsah – “Relax the rules. Appear harmless.”
These doctrines let Muslims adapt their behavior in difficult environments. Islamists exploit this to downplay religious strictness in public, appearing secular or moderate—while privately preparing for radical change.

🔸 Niyya: In Islamic law, the moral weight of an action depends on the intention behind it.
Radicals use this to justify otherwise forbidden acts if the ultimate goal is considered holy (e.g. jihad, the spread of Islam, or the destruction of “enemies of Allah”).

These aren’t conspiracy theories. These are well-documented doctrines from Islamic jurisprudence—many found in classical legal texts and still taught in parts of the Muslim world.

Radical Islamists have weaponized these doctrines. This is well documented in jihadist literature (e.g., writings by Sayyid Qutb, Abu Bakr Naji, or Al-Qaeda manuals).

Moderates reject them. But radicals rely on them to wage information warfare and subvert democracies from within

They don’t have to beat us in a fight.
They just have to exploit our openness, trust, and ignorance—while hiding their own intentions.

That’s the playbook.
And until we recognize it, we’ll keep getting played.