# Mohammedan > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mohammedan > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mohammedan.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammedan > Source revision: 1329304946 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) This article is about the word and its history. For the adherents of Islam, see [Muslim](/source/Muslim). "Mohammadan" redirects here. For the village, see [Mohammadan, Iran](/source/Mohammadan%2C_Iran). Formerly common term referring to Muslims and to Islam This article is part of a series about Muhammad Life Mecca Hijrah First Islamic state After Conquest of Mecca Farewell Pilgrimage (Farewell Sermon) Hadith Milestones and records Career Military Diplomatic Miracles Quran (First revelation) Isra and Mi'raj Splitting of the Moon Views and Perspectives Views Jews Christians Perspectives Islam Bible Judaism Medieval Christian Historicity Criticism Succession Saqifah Ghadir Khumm Companions of Muhammad Hadith of the pen and paper Ahl al-Bayt Praise Salawat Naat Mawlid Related Mohammedan Mahound Al-Masjid an-Nabawi Possessions Relics Seal History of Islam Islam portal Biography portal v t e ***Mohammedan***[a] is a historical term used to denote a follower of [Muhammad](/source/Muhammad), the [Islamic prophet](/source/Prophets_of_Islam).[1] It is used as both a [noun](/source/Noun) and an [adjective](/source/Adjective), meaning belonging or relating to, either Muhammad or the [religion, doctrines, institutions and practices that he established](/source/Islam).[2][3] The word was formerly common in usage, but the terms *[Muslim](/source/Muslim)* and *[Islamic](/source/Islamic)* are more common today. Though sometimes used stylistically by some Muslims, a vast majority consider the term archaic or a misnomer, as it suggests that Muslims worship Muhammad himself instead of the [God in Islam](/source/God_in_Islam). ## Etymology 1883 map of world religions showing "Mohammedan" areas in grey.[4] The *[Oxford English Dictionary](/source/Oxford_English_Dictionary)* cites 1663 as the first recorded usage of the English term; the older spelling *Mahometan* dates back to at least 1529. The English word is derived from [Neo-Latin](/source/Neo-Latin) *Mahometanus*, from [Medieval Latin](/source/Medieval_Latin) *Mahometus*, Muhammad. It meant simply a follower of Mohammad.[5] In [Western Europe](/source/Western_Europe), down to the 13th century or so, [some Christians had the belief](/source/Medieval_Christian_view_of_Muhammad) that Muhammad had either been a [heretical](/source/Heresy) Christian or that he was a god worshipped by Muslims.[6] Some works of [medieval European literature](/source/Medieval_literature) referred to Muslims as "[pagans](/source/Paganism)" or by [sobriquets](/source/Sobriquet) such as the "paynim foe" (enemy). Depictions, such as those in the *[Song of Roland](/source/Song_of_Roland)*, show Muslims praying to a variety of "[idols](/source/Cult_image)", including [Apollyon](/source/Apollyon), [Lucifer](/source/Lucifer), [Termagant](/source/Termagant),[7] and [Mahound](/source/Mahound). During the [trials of the Knights Templar](/source/Trials_of_the_Knights_Templar) (1300–1310s), reference was often made to their worship of the demon [Baphomet](/source/Baphomet); this is similar to "Mahomet", the [Latin transliteration](/source/Romanization) of Muhammad's name, and Latin was, for another 500 years, the [language of scholarship and erudition](/source/Lingua_franca) for most of Europe.[6] These and other variations on the theme were all set in the "temper of the times" of the Muslim–Christian conflict, as medieval Europe was becoming aware of its great enemy in the wake of the rapid success of the Muslims through [a series of conquests](/source/Early_Muslim_conquests) shortly after the fall of the [Western Roman Empire](/source/Western_Roman_Empire), as well as the lack of real information in the West of the mysterious East.[8] ## Obsolescence The term has been largely superseded by *[Muslim](/source/Muslim)* (formerly [transliterated](/source/Transliteration) as *Moslem*) or *Islamic*. *Mohammedan* was commonly used in European literature until at least the mid-1960s.[9] *Muslim* is more commonly used today, and the term *Mohammedan* is widely considered archaic or in some cases even offensive.[10] The term remains in limited use. The [Government Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College](/source/Govt._M.A.O_College_Lahore) in [Lahore](/source/Lahore), Pakistan, retains its original name, while the similarly named "[Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College](/source/Muhammadan_Anglo-Oriental_College)" in [Aligarh](/source/Aligarh), India, was renamed and succeeded by the [Aligarh Muslim University](/source/Aligarh_Muslim_University) in 1920, and "[Mohammedan Literary Society](/source/Mohammedan_Literary_Society)" in [Calcutta](/source/Calcutta), India, was renamed and succeeded by the Muslim Institute of Calcutta in 1930. There are also a number of [sporting clubs](/source/Sporting_club) in Bangladesh and India which include the word, such as [Mohammedan Sporting Club (Dhaka)](/source/Mohammedan_Sporting_Club_(Dhaka)), [Mohammedan Sporting Club (Chittagong)](/source/Mohammedan_Sporting_Club_(Chittagong)), [Mohammedan Sporting Club (Jhenaidah)](/source/Mohammedan_Sporting_Club_(Jhenaidah)) and [Mohammedan S.C. (Kolkata)](/source/Mohammedan_S.C._(Kolkata)). ## Muslim objections Some modern Muslims have objected to the term,[11] saying it was not used by Muhammad himself or [his early followers](/source/Salaf), and that the religion teaches the worship of God alone (see *[shirk](/source/Shirk_(polytheism))* and *[tawhid](/source/Tawhid)*) and not Muhammad or any other of God's prophets. Thus modern Muslims believe "Mohammedan" is a misnomer, "which seem[s] to them to carry the implication of worship of Mohammed, as Christian and Christianity imply the worship of [Christ](/source/Christ)."[12] Also, the term *al-Muḥammadīya* (the Arabic equivalent of Mohammedan) has been used in Islam to denote several sects considered heretical.[13][14] ## See also Look up ***[Mohammedan](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Mohammedan)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. - [Islam portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Islam) - [Christianity and Islam](/source/Christianity_and_Islam) - [Moors](/source/Moors) - [Muhammad in Islam](/source/Muhammad_in_Islam) - [Orientalism](/source/Orientalism) - [Saracen](/source/Saracen) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Also spelt as *Muhammadan*, *Mahommedan*, *Mahomedan* or *Mahometan*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** John Bowker. "Muhammadans". *The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions*. 1997. p. 389. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** -Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, edited by Noah Porter, published by G & C. Merriam Co., 1913 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Error's chains: how forged and broken. A complete, graphic, and comparative history of the many strange beliefs, superstitious practices, domestic peculiarities, sacred writings, systems of philosophy, legends and traditions, customs and habits of mankind throughout the world, ancient and modern"](https://archive.org/stream/errorschainshowf00dobb#page/n31/mode/2up). *archive.org*. 1883. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** A concise etymological dictionary of the English language, By Walter William Skeat 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-meyer2_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-meyer2_7-1) Kenneth Meyer Setton (1 July 1992). "[Western Hostility to Islam and Prophecies of Turkish Doom](https://books.google.com/books?id=hk4LAAAAIAAJ)". DIANE Publishing. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-87169-201-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87169-201-5). pg 4–15 – "Some Europeans believed that Moslems worshipped Mohammed as a god,[...]" (4) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** *[Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable](/source/Brewer's_Dictionary_of_Phrase_and_Fable)*, "[Termagant](http://www.bartleby.com/81/16352.html) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Watt_9-0)** Watt, Montgomery,*Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman.* Oxford University Press, 1961. from pg. 229 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** See for instance the second edition of *[A Dictionary of Modern English Usage](/source/Fowler's_Modern_English_Usage)* by [HW Fowler](/source/Henry_Watson_Fowler), revised by [Ernest Gowers](/source/Ernest_Gowers) (Oxford, 1965) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition (2000) annotates the term as "offensive". The *[OED](/source/Oxford_English_Dictionary)* has "its use is now widely seen as depreciatory or offensive", referring to *English Today* no. 39 (1992): "The term Mohammedan [...] is considered offensive or pejorative to most Muslims since it makes human beings central in their religion, a position which only Allah may occupy". Other dictionaries, such as [Merriam-Webster](/source/Merriam-Webster), do not label the term as offensive. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** see e.g. [Mohammedanism a Misnomer](https://books.google.com/books?id=fUw7Eks1UooC&dq=Mohammedanism+misnomer&pg=PA135)[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*], by [R. Bosworth Smith](/source/R._Bosworth_Smith), Paul Tice; [Definition of Mohammedanism](http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Mohammedanism), [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110607033409/http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Mohammedanism) 7 June 2011 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) Farlex Encyclopedia; [What does Islam mean?](http://www.islamicbulletin.org/intro.htm#a6), Islamic Bulletin 1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Gibb, Sir Hamilton (1969). *Mohammedanism: an historical survey*. Oxford University Press. p. 1. Modern Muslims dislike the terms Mohammedan and Mohammedanism, which seem to them to carry the implication of worship of Mohammed, as Christian and Christianity imply the worship of Christ. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-bowker_14-0)** JOHN BOWKER. "Muhammadans." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved 8 June 2012 1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Strothmann, Rudolf (1934). "al-Muḥammadīya". In Houtsma, M. Th.; Wensinck, A. J.; Levi-Provençal, E. (eds.). *[Encyclopaedia of Islam](/source/Encyclopaedia_of_Islam)*. Vol. 3 (1st ed.). Leiden: Brill. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1163/2214-871X_ei1_SIM_4812](https://doi.org/10.1163%2F2214-871X_ei1_SIM_4812). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [2214-871X](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/2214-871X). --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mohammedan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammedan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammedan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.