Western civilization's delinquent knowledge of the Islamic faith leaves us naive to many of its tenets. Many among us would be hard pressed to explain the differences between the Sunni and the Shi'ite, let alone the reasons why they have remained in conflict for almost the entire existence of the Islamic faith. This delinquency in understanding Islamic culture and doctrine makes those they consider non-believers--or kafirs--vulnerable both individually and collectively. This is especially true when we examine the Islamic concept of taqiyya.
