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Mohammedan[a] is a historical term used to denote a follower ofMuhammad, theIslamic prophet.[1] It is used as both anoun and anadjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muhammad or thereligion, doctrines, institutions and practices that he established.[2][3] The word was formerly common in usage, but the termsMuslim andIslamic 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 theGod in Islam.
TheOxford English Dictionary cites 1663 as the first recorded usage of the English term; the older spellingMahometan dates back to at least 1529. The English word is derived fromNeo-LatinMahometanus, fromMedieval LatinMahometus, Muhammad. It meant simply a follower of Mohammad.[5]
InWestern Europe, down to the 13th century or so,some Christians had the belief that Muhammad had either been aheretical Christian or that he was a god worshipped by Muslims.[6] Some works ofmedieval European literature referred to Muslims as "pagans" or bysobriquets such as the "paynim foe" (enemy). Depictions, such as those in theSong of Roland, show Muslims praying to a variety of "idols", includingApollyon,Lucifer,Termagant,[7] andMahound. During thetrials of the Knights Templar (1300–1310s), reference was often made to their worship of the demonBaphomet; this is similar to "Mahomet", theLatin transliteration of Muhammad's name, and Latin was, for another 500 years, thelanguage of scholarship and erudition 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 througha series of conquests shortly after the fall of theWestern Roman Empire, as well as the lack of real information in the West of the mysterious East.[8]
The term has been largely superseded byMuslim (formerlytransliterated asMoslem) orIslamic.Mohammedan was commonly used in European literature until at least the mid-1960s.[9]Muslim is more commonly used today, and the termMohammedan is widely considered archaic or in some cases even offensive.[10]
The term remains in limited use. TheGovernment Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College inLahore, Pakistan, retains its original name, while the similarly named "Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College" inAligarh, India, was renamed and succeeded by theAligarh Muslim University in 1920, and "Mohammedan Literary Society" inCalcutta, India, was renamed and succeeded by the Muslim Institute of Calcutta in 1930. There are also a number ofsporting clubs in Bangladesh and India which include the word, such asMohammedan Sporting Club (Dhaka),Mohammedan Sporting Club (Chittagong),Mohammedan Sporting Club (Jhenaidah) andMohammedan S.C. (Kolkata).
Some modern Muslims have objected to the term,[11] saying it was not used by Muhammad himself orhis early followers, and that the religion teaches the worship of God alone (seeshirk andtawhid) 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 ofChrist."[12] Also, the termal-Muḥammadīya (the Arabic equivalent of Mohammedan) has been used in Islam to denote several sects considered heretical.[13][14]
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.
