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Ajam (عجم) in Arabic literally means "one who is illiterate in a language" or "mute", and can refer to non-Arabs in general, or specifically Persians. In the former sense it is a neutral term meaning "stranger" or "foreign." In the latter sense it can be considered a derogatory term by Arabs towards Persians.
Origin `ajam has two primary meanings in Arabic: "non-Arab" and "Persian". The word `ajam comes from the Arabic root `-j-m. Related forms of the same root include, but are not limited to: Homophonous words, which may or may not be derived from the same root, include: A Persian folk etymology derives the word from the name of an ancient Persian king, Jamshid, though this is linguistically dubiuos. The folk etymology would have "Ajam" as an arabized version of the kings name through the addition of the definite article al-. However, as jīm is a lunar and not a solar letter, the "l" would not be assimilated by the jīm and would not explain the ayin at the beginning of the word (as opposed to the alif in the article al-). Development According to The Political Language of Islam, Ajam was originally used as a reference to denote those whom Arabs in the Arabian peninsula viewed as 'alien' or outsiders. The early application of the term included all of the peoples with whom the Arabs had contact including Persians, Greeks, Ethiopians, and the somewhat related Nabataeans. Over time the term because specialized and referred to Persians almost exclusively as an ethnic term, but varied in its usage from place to place as the early Muslim conquests led to a much wider of Arabic-speakers. However, the original meaning still exists, and in much of the non-Arabic speaking muslim world the term does not have a pejorative meaning as the word is understood to mean anyone who does not speak Arabic. Muhammad in his last sermon to the muslims used the word ajami in the same way: All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over an Ajami nor an Ajami has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black, nor a black has any superiority over a white - except by piety and good action. During the early age of the Caliphates, Ajam was often synonymous for "barbarian" (uncivilized) or stranger. In the eastern portions of the Middle East, it was generally applied to the Persians, while in al-Andalus it referred to speakers of Romance languages - becoming "Aljamiado" in Spanish in reference to Arabic-script writing of those languages - and in West Africa, Ajami similarly refers to Ajami script, or the writing of local languages such as Hausa and Fulani in the Arabic alphabet. In Zanzibar ajami and ajamo means Persian which came from the Persian Gulf and the cities of Shiraz and Siraf. In Turkish, the usage of the term is not used to any ethnic group, but instead may have evolved from the original Arabic usage for outsiders in general. "Ajam" as referring to "Persians" According to Encyclopedia Iranica, the word "ajam" was "applied especially to Persians" by the Arabs and means "to mumble, and speak indistinctly," which is the opposite of the meaning "chaste," "correct", and "Arabic language." In the Persian Gulf region today, people usually refer to Persian as Ajami as they refer to Persian carpet (Ajami carpet or Sajjad al Ajami), Persian cat (Ajami cat), and Persian emperors (Ajami kings). Ajam (عجم) in Arabic means non-Arab, or non-Arabic-speaker. In Persian language it means Iranian. In many books after the Arab conquest, for instance the Shahnameh of Ferdousi, the word is used to refer to Iranians and to the Persian language. Among Kurds, the term Ajam (Ecem in Kurdish, Pron: عجم) is used to refer to Persians and Azeris. Other usages See also | ||||||||
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