Why Do People Say Muslim Now Instead of Moslem?

History News Network - George Mason University ^ | 1-21-02 | Yii-Ann Christine Chen

[paterfamilias]

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.

For others, this spelling differentiation is merely a linguistic matter, with the two spellings a result of variation in transliteration methods. Both Moslem and Muslim are used as nouns. But some writers use Moslem when the word is employed as an adjective.

Journalists switched to Muslim from Moslem in recent years under pressure from Islamic groups. But the use of the word Moslem has not entirely ceased. Established institutions which used the older form of the name have been reluctant to change. The American Moslem Foundation is still the American Moslem Foundation (much as the NAACP is still the NAACP--the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). The journal The Moslem World--published by the Hartford Seminary in Connecticut--is still The Moslem World.

(References at link)

[BlueLancer]

Moors

[blam]

I'll use Mozlem for these pig-faced, low-life, scum-bag SOB's from now on.

[La Lydia]

I say, that is, I write, “Muzlim” and “Izlam” because they have set up websites that track what people are saying about them that search for “Muslim” and “Islam.” I suppose so when they take over, they will know who to round up and behead.

[Swede Girl]

From now on, I will pronounce it as MOZLEM! I will call it as I see it.

[cameraeye]

Sorry, that is what we called them in the back in the 80’s in Reagan’s Navy!

[Williams]

stupid remarks, is that the best we can do.

We fight with countless Moslem allies around the world, making all moslems the enemy is absolutely idiotic.

Just my opinion.

[cameraeye]

Not this head without at least five of their b@lls in my hands!

[secret garden]

We do understand you. That’s the scary part, ROR!

[moehoward]

"I simply refer to them as “murderous back stabbing stone age baby raping savages” and everyone knows to whom I’m referring."

But you do tip your hand slightly.

[The Comedian]

Because "Satanic Pedophile Sand Monkey" is too long.

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[Political Junkie Too]

Even old New York was once New Amsterdam.

-PJ

[mountn man]

Yes. Whatever will offend the sonzabitches the most.

mooselimb might work

[celtic gal]

Well in Chile and Puerto it is a Spanish pronunciation. So those of us who speak some Spanish are likely to say it that way.

[celtic gal]

I just say Muzzies and let it go at that.

[terycarl]

We fight with countless Moslem allies around the world, making all moslems the enemy is absolutely idiotic

good, just watch your back at all times......actually I thought that muslim came about when the black idiots in this country decided to accept that “religion” Weren’t they referred to as the black muslims?? it was far more a group of malcontents that a religious movement because most of them weren’t intelligent enough to formulate a complete sentence muchless follow a religious teaching.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Peking became Beijing in 1979, when a new system of transliteration from Mandarin to English was devised.

The name “Beijing” is supposed to be much closer to how the city’s name is pronounced in Mandarin than is Peking. The name of the city did not change, only the way it is spelled and pronounced in the western world. And this was done, I believe, at the request of the Chinese.

I can remember when “Chile” was pronounced “chili” in this country. Perhaps it’s part of a movement to pronounce names closer to the way natives do, and do away with anglicized pronunciations???

[mjp]

mozslimes

[The_Reader_David]

Personally, I favor calling the “Mohammedans”.

[Williams]

I personally consider it a tragedy that American blacks abandoned Jesus as their savior to join a “trendy” and IMHO, nonsensical religion.

And yes we have to watch our backs in Moslem countries because many of them are sympathizers with the radicals.

That said, we fight WITH gazillions of Moslems the World over, and the desire by many to just “hate em all” or “kill em all” is ignorant of the reality.

I mean it’s getting out of hand, yes we all feel anger because of 9/11 and a lot of other things. yes the media’s love of Moslems and direspect for Christians is glaring.

But hating them all or fighting them all is quite counterproductive, and I think we are smarter than that.

We couldn’t be in the Middle East in the way we are, without our Moslem allies. Just not possible.

[Dilbert San Diego]

And let’s not forget that one night in 1961, Stalingrad became Volgograd, with little if any explanation from Soviet leadership at the time. It was as if Uncle Joe Stain was erased from history.

And in recent times, since communism fell, Leningrad reverted to the historic name of St. Petersburg.