Of Lies, Jokes, and the Shia Clergy

Lying is always a hot topic where Iran in is concerned. Iranians have long resented the Victorian statesman Lord Curzon for (among other things) depicting Iranians as inherently dishonest in his 1892 book, Persia and the Persian Question. The impostures demanded by life in Iran’s post-1979 Islamic Republic now form a discrete topic in themselves, one addressed by British-Iranian journalist Ramita Navai in her 2014 book, City of Lies. Many Iranians are happy to pillory their politicians as liars, as they did when Foreign Minister Javad Zarif claimed last year that Iran doesn’t imprison people for their opinions. Even so, when foreign politicians do it, they may hear echoes of Curzon. When US Republican senator Lindsey Graham made an ambiguous comment about “the Iranians” being liars in the context of nuclear negotiations last May, some Iranian-Americans assumed he was talking about them.

Part of the debate about lying in Iran centers on the attitudes of the country’s Shia clergy. Shiism is the minority sect in Islam, and Shia Muslims have, at various times throughout Islamic history, had to lie or “dissimulate” about their faith to avoid persecution by other Muslims. Since this dissimulation, or “taqiyya” as it is known, has become entrenched in Shia theology as an exception to the faith’s general proscription against lying, the image of the lying mullah has become a figure of fun among Iranians, as can be seen in the above animation based on a bawdy sermon by the late Ayatollah Ahmad Mojtahedi Tehrani. Tehrani seems to suggest it is “permitted” to make one’s wife false promises in exchange for sex.

Seeking further insight on the matter, IranWire approached a UK-based academic expert on Shiism. While our source assured us the video was “quite funny,” he did not wish to be named in connection with it, lest his colleagues in Iran and Iraq (where the majority of the population is also Shia) fail to share his view.

The first point he made was that Shia Islam does not endorse lying in most circumstances. “Generally,” he says, “Shia ethics follow a rationalist approach. Medieval Shia scholars were of the opinion that to discern whether something is good or evil, one can simply rely on reason. So lying and murder and so on are intrinsically wrong because human reason helps us reach this conclusion.”

This, he says, is something Shia Islam has in common with all world religions. According to one statement traditionally attributed to Islam’s prophet Muhammad, he says, a person who deceives is not a Muslim.

The founding figures of Islam’s Shia tradition took a similar view. According to Shia tradition, Ali, the first Shia Imam, corresponded with his rival, Muawiya, the first caliph of the Umayyad dynasty, following a defeat. “Ali wrote that, had he and his followers not upheld a strong stance against lying and deception, he would have outwitted Muawiya. It's interesting because here he is refraining from lying and deception even in the world of politics.”

Shia Muslims typically follow a leading cleric known as a Marja, or “source of emulation” from whom they draw moral guidance. These clerics run large offices with telephone hotlines and websites to which believers can refer their ethical questions, including those about lying. For example, on the official website of the prominent cleric Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who is based in Najaf, Iraq, readers can find forum questions about lying, and the answers according to Sistani’s interpretation of Islam.

“Is it permissible for a Muslim to give false information to government departments in Europe to gain some financial or abstract benefits, through proper channels?” one Sistani follower asks. Answer: “It is not permissible because it is lying.” Another asks, “Can I lie to my future husband about my past?” Answer: “It is not permissible to tell him what is not true and [sic] do not expose your secrets to anyone.”

IranWire put its own question to Sistani's office: Is it permissible to make one's wife false promises in exchange for sex? A few days later, one of his representatives responded, "In the Name of God, the Most High. It is not permissible to lie, no matter what the intention. It is the wife’s duty to submit herself to her husband for sexual intercourse if he needs her to do so. May Allah grant you success."

There is, however, a clear exception, which appears in another of the forum answers. A follower asks, “Is it permissible to tell a lie when there is a danger threatening your life? Answer: “It is permissible in the said supposition.”

The question of danger, IranWire’s source says, is the central one, not only when it comes to protecting one’s own life, but also the lives of loved ones. The practice of “taqqiya” often involves hiding one’s religious identity entirely. “A typical modern example is what happens to Shias who live in areas that fall under ISIS control,” IranWire’s source says. “When ISIS captures Iraqi soldiers and interrogates them, they ask, ‘Are you Shia or Sunni?’ In that instance, a Shia soldier is permitted to lie and say that he is Sunni. ISIS will then insist, ‘Surely you uphold dissimulation? Surely you uphold dissimulation?' This is because taqqiya is a well-known tenet of Shiism.”

So, what about Ayatollah Ahmad Mojtahedi Tehrani, who said that, although you shouldn’t lie to anyone else, you can promise your wife a new chador or a trip to the Shia shrine city of Mashhad in exchange for sex? “This is purely comical,” IranWire’s source says. “The guy was a well-known preacher and someone who focused on ethics and morality. This was just good old banter, and he himself was laughing and chuckling. In private male gatherings, these clerics often engage in sexual banter.”

Tehrani, who married in 1967 at the age of 24, and died in 2008, has some of his of his jokes posted online. More than one of them hinged on the theme of deception. Here is another example:

A man went into a mill. He noticed that it was a mule, and not a man, that was turning the millstone with a rope fastened to its neck. There was also a bell hanging from the mule’s neck. When the man asked the miller about the bell, he answered, “It’s there so that I will know if he stops going around.” The man said, “Well, what if the mule just stops and just shakes his head?”  The miller shouted, “Get out you bastard! Don’t teach my mule these tricks!”

According to IranWire’s source, “A tradition attributed to Muhammad says that true believers are people who have humor, people who joke, people who engage in banter. It’s seen as a sign of piety.”

Still, one wonders what Ayatollah Tehrani’s wife would have said if she had heard him laughing it up with his congregation. Many a true word, as the saying goes, is said in jest.

Note: this article was updated on June 14, 2016 to include the comment from Ayatollah Sistani's office.

This article was originally published on June 10, 2016