[MargaretR]

In arab culture lying and cheating is justified in some circumstances - they call it 'Taqiyya'.

The original practice was justified in the Koran, but appears to have widened its scope of use over time.

If you are an 'infidel' you cannot expect the truth all of the time, and the liar feels no moral obligation to tell you the truth.

I don't want to appear racist because differing branches of Islam have different attitudes towards the topic, - don't tar them all with the same brush.