Editing Muslims (section)

==Etymology==
{{See also|Islam#Etymology}}
The word ''muslim''{{efn|{{langx|ar|مسلم|link=no}}, {{IPA|ar|ˈmʊslɪm|IPA}}; {{IPAc-en|lang|ˈ|m|ʌ|z|l|ɪ|m}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ʊ|z|l|ɪ|m}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ʊ|s|l|ɪ|m}} {{respell|MUZZ|lim|,_|MUUZ|lim|,_|MUUSS|lim}}}} or ''moslem''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɒ|z|l|ə|m}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɒ|s|l|ə|m}} {{respell|MOZ|ləm|,_|MOSS|ləm}}<ref name="muslim pron" />}} is the [[active participle]] of the same verb of which ''islām'' is a [[verbal noun]], based on the [[triliteral]] ''[[S-L-M]]'' "to be whole, intact".<ref>Burns & Ralph, ''World Civilizations'', 5th ed., p. 371.</ref><ref>Entry for ''šlm'', p. 2067, Appendix B: Semitic Roots, ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'', 4th ed., Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, {{ISBN|0-618-08230-1}}.</ref> A female adherent is a ''muslima'' ({{lang|ar|مسلمة}}; also [[transliteration|transliterated]] as ''muslimah'').<ref>[http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/muslimah Muslimah] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817020605/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/muslimah |date=17 August 2016 }}. ''Oxford Dictionaries''. Oxford University Press. 2016</ref> The plural form in Arabic is ''muslimūn'' ({{lang|ar|مسلمون}}) or ''muslimīn'' ({{lang|ar|مسلمين}}), and its feminine equivalent is ''muslimāt'' ({{lang|ar|مسلمات}}).

The ordinary word in English is "Muslim". For most of the 20th century, the preferred spelling in English was "Moslem", but this has now fallen into disuse. That spelling and its pronunciation was opposed by many Muslims in English-speaking countries because it resembled the Arabic word ''aẓ-ẓālim'' ({{lang|ar|الظَّالِم}}), meaning "the oppressor".<ref name=vanishingmoslems>Baker, Paul, Costas Gabrielatos, and Tony McEnery. [https://books.google.com/books?id=8DUhAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA76 "Muslim or Moslem? Differences between newspapers: Vanishing Moslems"], ''Discourse Analysis and Media Attitudes: The Representation of Islam in the British Press'', [[Cambridge University Press]], 2013, pages 76-78.</ref> In the United States, the [[Associated Press]] instructed news outlets to switch to the spelling "Muslim" in 1991, making it the most common spelling thereafter.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/147637700/ "Term 'Moslem' becomes 'Muslim'], ''[[San Angelo Standard-Times]]'', 1 January 1991, page 11A, via [[Newspapers.com]]. See also Newspapers.com search results for the word "Moslem", which show a sharp decline immediately after the AP's decision.</ref><ref>Chen, Yii-Ann Christine. [https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/why-do-people-say-muslim-now-instead-of-moslem "Why Do People Say Muslim Now Instead of Moslem?"], [[History News Network]], 8 July 2002, Web. Retrieved 18 May 2024.</ref> The last major newspaper in the United Kingdom to use the spelling "Moslem" was the ''[[Daily Mail]]'', which switched to "Muslim" in 2004.<ref name=vanishingmoslems/>

The word ''Mosalman'' or ''Mussulman'' ({{langx|fa|مسلمان|translit=mosalmân}}, alternatively ''musalmān'') is a common equivalent for ''Muslim'' used in [[Central Asia|Central]] and [[South Asia]]. In English it was sometimes spelled '''Mussulman''' and has become [[Archaism|archaic]] in usage; however, cognates of this word remain the standard term for "Muslim" in various other European languages. Until at least the mid-1960s, many English-language writers used the term ''[[Mohammedan]]s'' or ''Mahometans''.<ref>See for instance the second edition of ''[[Fowler's Modern English Usage|A Dictionary of Modern English Usage]]'' by [[Henry Watson Fowler|H. W. Fowler]], revised by [[Ernest Gowers]] (Oxford, 1965).</ref> Although such terms were not necessarily intended to be [[pejorative]], Muslims argue that the terms are offensive because they allegedly imply that Muslims worship Muhammad rather than God.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Oxford University Press| last = Gibb| first = Sir Hamilton| title = Mohammedanism: an historical survey| year = 1969| page=1 | quote=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.}}</ref> Other obsolete terms include ''Muslimite''<ref>{{Cite OED|Muslimite}}</ref> and ''Muslimist''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Abbas|first1=Tahir|title=Muslim Britain: Communities Under Pressure|url=https://archive.org/details/muslimbritaincom00abba|url-access=registration|date=2005|pages=[https://archive.org/details/muslimbritaincom00abba/page/n68 50]}}</ref> In medieval Europe, Muslims were commonly called [[Saracens]].

The Muslim philologist [[Ibn al-Anbari]] said:

{{Blockquote|a Muslim is a person who has dedicated his worship exclusively to God, for just as we say in Arabic that something is ‘''salima''’ to a person, meaning that it became solely his own, so in the same way ‘''Islām''’ means making one's religion and faith God's alone.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Abdelnour |first1=Mohammed Gamal |title=A Comparative History of Catholic and Aš'arī Theologies of Truth and Salvation |date=25 May 2021 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004461765 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=OkwwEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA154 154] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OkwwEAAAQBAJ}}</ref>}}

In several places in the [[Quran]], the word ''muslim'' conveys a universal meaning, beyond the description of the followers of [[Muhammad]], for example:<ref>[[Seyyed Hossein Nasr]] (2015), <u>The Study Quran</u>, HarperCollins, footnote p. 146</ref>

{{blockquote |

"Abraham was not a Jew, nor a Christian, but he was a true Muslim [مُّسۡلِمࣰا], and he was not a polytheist." – Quran 3:67 <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/3/67/|title=Ayah al-Imran (The Family of Imran, The House of Imran) 3:67|website=www.islamawakened.com}}</ref>

"Then when Jesus perceived their disbelief he said, 'Who will be my helpers of God.' The disciples said 'We will be the helpers of God; we believe in God and bear witness that we are Muslims [مُسۡلِمُونَ].'" – Quran 3:52 <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/3/52/|title=Ayah al-Imran (The Family of Imran, The House of Imran) 3:52|website=www.islamawakened.com}}</ref>
}}[[Quranic studies]] scholar [[Mohsen Goudarzi]] has argued that in the Quran the word ''[[dīn]]'' means "[[worship]]", the ''[[islām]]'' means "[[monotheism]]" and the ''muslim'' means "monotheist".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goudarzi |first=Mohsen |date=1 August 2023 |title=Worship (dīn), Monotheism (islām), and the Qurʾān's Cultic Decalogue |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jiqsa-2023-0006/html |journal=Journal of the International Qur'anic Studies Association |language=en |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=30–71 |doi=10.1515/jiqsa-2023-0006 |issn=2474-8420}}</ref>

Until the 8th century, the term ''muslim'' was more inclusive, including anyone who was considered to be submitting to God (e.g. Christians and Jews), and the term ''mu'min'' was instead used to refer to believers in Islam as a distinct religion.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Donner |first=Fred M. |date=23 January 2018 |title=Talking about Islam's origins |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/abs/talking-about-islams-origins1/31AC247FCBBE328951FC1FC9A3F9ABED |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |language=en |volume=81 |issue=1 |pages=6 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X17001409 |issn=0041-977X}}</ref>