Majus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Majūs (Arabic and Persian: مجوس, pl. of majūsī) was originally a term meaning Zoroastrians[1] (and specifically, Zoroastrian priests). It was a technical term, meaning magus,[2][3] and like its synonym gabr (of uncertain etymology) originally had no pejorative implications.[4]
In the 1980s, majus was part of Iraqi propaganda vocabulary of the Iran-Iraq War to refer to Iranians in general. "By referring to the Iranians in these documents as majus, the security apparatus [implied] that the Iranians [were] not sincere Muslims, but rather covertly practice their pre-Islamic beliefs. Thus, in their eyes, Iraq’s war took on the dimensions of not only a struggle for Arab nationalism, but also a campaign in the name of Islam."[5]
The term majus is distict from Arabic kafir "unbeliever". Persian gabr is no longer synonymous with majus.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh & Stewart, Sarah (eds.) (1995). Birth of the Persian Empire: The Idea of Iran, Volume I. London: I. B. Tauris. ISBN 1845110625.
- ^ "Majūs". A Comprehensive Persian-English dictionary, including the Arabic words and phrases to be met with in Persian literature. (1892). Ed. Steingass, Francis Joseph. London: Routledge & K. Paul. p. 1179.
- ^ See also: references to Majus/Magi in academic publications
- ^ a b "Gabr". Encyclopedia Iranica 10. (2001). Cosa Mesa: Mazda.
- ^ Al-Marashi, Ibrahim (2000). "The Mindset of Iraq’s Security Apparatus". Cambridge University: Centre of International Studies.
[edit] See also
- ajam, "illiterate", non-Arab, Iranian
- ahl al-Kitab, "People of the Book"
- dhimmi, "protected"
- kafir, "unbeliever"
