# Muslim vs Islamic

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-vs-islamic/312270>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 13, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-vs-islamic/312270 "2005-07-13T01:20:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-vs-islamic/312270/1 "2005-07-13T01:20:17Z")

</div>

It seems that the words Muslim and Islamic are used interchangably. Is there a difference between the 2 words or are they synonyms.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslim-vs-islamic/312270/2 "2005-07-13T01:27:12Z")

</div>

In the strictest of usage, Muslims are people who embrace the Islamic faith, or Islam. As adjectives, you would use Muslim with reference to the people, and Islamic with reference to the belief. They would be synonymous with reference to the culture of the Muslims who believe in Islam. In a more free usage, they can be used synonymously without confusion.