Sadiq Khan’s “Peace” Lie: Tawriya Exposed

London mayor Sadiq Khan recently engaged in a shameless bit of tawriya, a little-known Islamic doctrine that allows Muslims to engage in “creative” lying.

Background: On March 16, Khan allowed thousands of Muslims to take over Trafalgar Square, with worshippers sprawled in prostration across the streets as Koran verses, including “Allahu Akbar,” were blared out over megaphones. Many British Christians accused the gathering of being a provocative act of domination over the city’s historically Christian public space. After expressing his disappointment that these Christians were not behaving like doormats, Khan said,

You know, our religion is about submission, it’s about peace. I began my speech with a greeting of peace, asalima alikum, may the peace and blessing of our creator be upon you. What can be more peaceful than that?

On the one hand, these words are essentially true and accurate; on the other, they do not, at all, mean what he wants Western people to think they mean.

Welcome to the all-important but obscure doctrine of tawriya. In what follows, I explain this Muslim teaching and then show how it applies to Khan’s words.

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