Taqiyya in Political Jurisprudence and Foreign Policy

In Islamic political jurisprudence, rules have been designed to regulate relations and interactions between individuals or governments, which, in addition to organizing and stabilizing interactions, will lead to transparency in relations and, consequently, the effectiveness of interactions. One of these rules is taqiyya, which is widely used in domestic politics in interactions with opponents and minorities and in foreign policy in interactions of the Islamic government with foreigners, especially enemies. The main question of this research is the role of taqiyya in the foreign policy of the Islamic government. In this regard, its vital role was examined, emphasizing Ayatollah Khamenei's viewpoints on applying this rule in political jurisprudence and foreign policy. Also, using the jurisprudential method and relying on rational reasoning, after examining the conditions and various types of taqiyya, including fear-based, strategic, etc., its role in the political sphere, especially foreign policy, was investigated. The importance of the Islamic country's political relations with other countries requires taqiyya to be used as a main strategic principle to avoid potential dangers to countries or to continue friendship between governments and, generally, in the direction of the higher interests of the Islamic country. According to Ayatollah Khamenei, along with the principles of wisdom and expediency, this rule is considered one of the principles of the foreign policy of the Islamic country. In both domestic and foreign spheres, this rule creates legal prescriptions for preserving, attracting, and influencing the achievement of the goals of Islamic governance and Muslims and the resolution of their problems. Internationally, aligning governments and nations, preserving the unity of Muslims and the entities of the Islamic country, and undermining the enemy's plans and deceits are possible through taqiyya. In fact, the philosophy of using this rule in political jurisprudence is to lead the Islamic country and Muslims to their higher goals.