Why Do People Say Muslim Now Instead of Moslem?
by Yii-Ann Christine Chen
Originally published 7-8-02
Is it Muslim or Moslem?
When Baby Boomers were children it was Moslem. The American Heritage Dictionary (1992) noted,"Moslem is the form predominantly preferred in journalism and popular usage. Muslim is preferred by scholars and by English-speaking adherents of Islam." No more. Now, almost everybody uses Muslim.
According to the Center for Nonproliferation Studies,"Moslem and Muslim are basically two different spellings for the same word." But the seemingly arbitrary choice of spellings is a sensitive subject for many followers of Islam. Whereas for most English speakers, the two words are synonymous in meaning, the Arabic roots of the two words are very different. A Muslim in Arabic means"one who gives himself to God," and is by definition, someone who adheres to Islam. By contrast, a Moslem in Arabic means"one who is evil and unjust" when the word is pronounced, as it is in English, Mozlem with a z.
Why J.K. Rowling is so incensed about Rupert Murdoch’s tweet about ‘Moslems’
By Terrence McCoy
January 12, 2015
Aging conservative icon Rupert Murdoch has never had a problem lacing his Twitter account with provocative opinion. In a given month, he’ll vacillate from the injustices of taxation to President Obama’s policies, which he predicts will go “terribly wrong,†to an issue that truly gets him riled: Muslims.
In 2013, the News Corp. tycoon got into hot water when he proclaimed on Twitter that “societies have to integrate,†but lamented that “Muslims find it hardest.†Last last year, Murdoch addressed the controversy over the nearly all-white cast of “Moses,†which depicts Mideast Biblical events. “Moses film attacked on Twitter for all white cast,†Murdoch mused. “Since when are Egyptians not white? All I know are.â€
On Sunday, Murdoch struck again. “Maybe most Moslems are peaceful, but until they recognize and destroy their growing jihadist cancer they must be held responsible,†Murdoch declared. Then he dug his heels in. “Big jihadist danger looming everywhere from Philippines to Africa to Europe to US. Political correctness makes for denial and hypocrisy.â€
As the comments went viral in the Internet Rage Machine, Murdoch perhaps sensed he had overstepped, and offered one last tweet: “Extraordinary scenes in Paris today, but do not forget the heroic sacrifice of Ahmed Merabet, Muslim police officer whose funeral was today.â€
One of people leading the outrage was author J.K. Rowling, who immediately took issue with Murdoch’s proclamation and let loose with a barrage of pugnacious tweets.
“I was born Christian,†she said. “If that makes Rupert Murdoch my responsibility, I’ll auto-excommunicate. … The Spanish Inquisition was my fault, as is all Christian fundamentalist violence. Oh, and Jim Bakker. … Eight times more Muslims have been killed by so-called Islamic terrorists than non-Muslims.â€
Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corp., in 2014. (Jason Reed/AP)
Lurking beneath that tiff, however, was another issue: Murdoch’s seemingly antiquated spelling of “Muslims.†He called them “Moslems.†The discrepancy became fodder for numerous observers: “Now, he is tweeting wrong, bigoted things about Muslims! (‘Moslems,’ actually),†wrote Gawker’s Brendan O’Connor. Vox added: “On Friday, Rupert Murdoch tweeted that Muslims (sorry, ‘Moslems’) should be ‘held responsible’ for terrorism unless they destroy jihadism.â€
Those asides implied Murdoch had said something culturally insensitive, if not bigoted, when describing Muslims. But is the spelling “Moslem†bigoted, as commenters indicated on Sunday? Has standard English evolved beyond “Moslems,†which was once as common as using “the Orient� Or are “Muslim†and “Moslem†interchangeable?
The Moslem World.
Author: Christian Literature Society for India.; Hartford Seminary Foundation.
Publisher: London : Published for the Nile Mission Press by the Christian
uh huh
The Muslim World Journal
Founded in 1911, and sponsored by Hartford Seminary since 1938, The Muslim World journal is edited and published quarterly by the Macdonald Center and Wiley-Blackwell.
The Muslim World Journal
