i was flipping through this book the other day called “THE COMPLETE IDIOT’S GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING ISLAM” it is filled with fun facts. One of them concerns the term “Mosque.” So many of us think that this is the English translation of Masjid. I’m sure none of us ever wondered how this term
came into being when it really had little in common with how it sounded compared to ‘Masjid’. (We were very young when we were taught this English word. Our mind then were not critical & analytical, so didn’t dare ! to ask/challenge our teachers, right?).
Anyway this book pointed out that the term ‘mosque’ is derived from the
Spanish word for “mosquito.” It was termed as such because during the
Crusades, King Ferdinand said they were going to go and swat the Muslims
“like mosquitoes”. (Where else can they find Muslims in large number to
be swatted if not in a Masjid?). So, they cheekily termed “Masjid” as “Mosque”.
So dear Muslim brothers and sisters, refrain from using this term which is obviously a disgusting slap in the face to the Ummah. Educate our brothers and sisters to the history and etymology of this word. And let us replace it with the word which is MEANT to be used: Masjid! The Place of Prostration!! Not Mosque: the place to be swatted! If any of you have doubts about this, then please go look for the book
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*Originally posted by SheeN: *
PLEASE CALL OUR MASJID "MASJID"! Not "MOSQUE"!!!
i was flipping through this book the other day called "THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING ISLAM" it is filled with fun facts. One of them concerns the term "Mosque." So many of us think that this is the English translation of Masjid. I'm sure none of us ever wondered how this term
came into being when it really had little in common with how it sounded compared to 'Masjid'. (We were very young when we were taught this English word. Our mind then were not critical & analytical, so didn't dare ! to ask/challenge our teachers, right?).
Anyway this book pointed out that the term 'mosque' is derived from the
Spanish word for "mosquito." It was termed as such because during the
Crusades, King Ferdinand said they were going to go and swat the Muslims
"like mosquitoes". (Where else can they find Muslims in large number to
be swatted if not in a Masjid?). So, they cheekily termed "Masjid" as "Mosque".
So dear Muslim brothers and sisters, refrain from using this term which is obviously a disgusting slap in the face to the Ummah. Educate our brothers and sisters to the history and etymology of this word. And let us replace it with the word which is MEANT to be used: Masjid! The Place of Prostration!! Not Mosque: the place to be swatted! If any of you have doubts about this, then please go look for the book :)
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I am not so convinced my self. What is your source ?
According to the Collins Gem Spanish Dictionary, the Spanish word for Mosquito is..
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mosquito
A mosque in Spanish is a different word altogether, mezquita
Having studied Spanish for 4 years, I can tell you that the word Masjid is extremely different from any normal Spanish sound - there is no "j" sound in Spanish. The letter "j" is pronounce like a soft English "y"
The nearest the Spanish language has to the arabic letter "jeem" is the "k" sound formed by the letters "qu" in Spanish
So you have the Spanish calling it a Mazquid. Couple this with the need to assign a gender, in this case female, to the noun an "a" at the end.
This gives you Mazquida. Over time, this easily becomes Mezquita , to try and remove some of the harshness from the word (Spanish being a language that tries to avoid harsh sounds).
