Crypto-Islam is the secret adherence to
Islam while publicly professing to be of another faith; people who practice crypto-Islam are referred to as "crypto-Muslims." The word has mainly been used in reference to
Spanish Muslims and
Sicilian Muslims during the
Inquisition
The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
(i.e., the
Moriscos and Saraceni and their usage of
Aljamiado).
Historic examples
Some historic examples include
Ahmad ibn Qasim Al-Hajarī
Ahmad ibn Qāsim Al-Hajarī ( ar, أحمد بن قاسم الحجري) also known as Al-Hajari, Afoukay, Chihab, Afokai ( ar, أفوكاي) or Afoqai ( ar, أفوقاي) (c.1570, Andalusia–c.1640, Tunis), was a Muslim Morisco who worked as a tran ...
, 16th-century crypto-Muslim from Spain who authored a book recounting how he organized his escape from Spain to Morocco, and also including a refutation of the Catholic opinions about Jesus. The books also included details about how crypto-Muslims lived in Spain. He later became Ambassador of Morocco to Spain.
There are claims that
Armah, who ruled the
Kingdom of Aksum and gave refuge to early Muslim converts, was a crypto-Muslim.
During 16th to late 18th century
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
, the native Muslims of the region faced frequent persecution by the authorities which saw many episodes of forced conversions to Christianity. During these times, the newly converted continued to secretly practice Islam. Once Russia allowed Muslims to practice their faith, many of the converted reverted to Islam.
See also
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Crypto-Christianity
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Crypto-Judaism
Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews" (origin from Greek ''kryptos'' – , 'hidden').
The term is especially applied historically to Sp ...
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Crypto-Paganism
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Crypto-Hinduism
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Limpieza de sangre
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Oran fatwa
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Taqiya
References
Bibliography
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* Rustam Shukurov, "The Crypto-Muslims of Anatolia," in Anthropology, Archeology and Heritage in the Balkans and Anatolia or The Life and Times of F.W. Hasluck (1878-1920), ed. David Shankland, Istanbul: Isis, 2004, volume 2, pages 135–158.
Converts to Islam
Moriscos
Passing (sociology)
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