I was looking at a BBS run by some Muslim youth group or something and they keep referring to Westerners (or non Muslims) as Kuffar, or Kuffar scum, etc… I gather that this means non-believer, but it sounds really derogatory in it’s usage. What does it mean?
Also for those of you interested in the BBS take a look. I don’t know what to gather. It seems like most of the people there are good Muslim people, but there are a few that are really trying to brainwash the others into joining together for a Jihad. Check it out, what do you think? You can see where posters are from and it seems most sre from the USA and the UK>>???
blade
I used to work with a guy from South Africa, and he claimed that “kafir” was worse epithet than “nigger”. He told the following story to me once:
As a child, my friend (who’s white) had a black maid or nanny. He asked her to get him some hot chocolate, but she refused for some reason.
My friend went to his father, and told him “I asked her to make me hot chocolate, but the bloody kafir wouldn’t make me any!”
The father was furious. “You will not call the niggers ‘kafirs’ in this house!”
I gathered from this story that “kafir” was about as offensive as “nigger” is here, but “nigger” obviously wasn’t quite as offensive, at least it wasn’t forty or so years ago when he was living there as a child.
While you are correct about this, I’d wager that the Arabic term “kaffir” is more likely related to the Hebrew verb “Kefirah,” which means “denial.” (The noun form, “denier”, would be “Kofer”) In Hebrew, a “Kofer B’Ikar” is one who denies the truth of the fundamental principles of Judaism…in other words, a non-believer or infidel, as a “kaffir” is to Muslims.
Kaafir (pl. Kuffaar, Kaafiroon)
-literally means “one who covers up the truth”. It is used to refer to someone who is made aware of the message of Islaam but refuses to worship Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala). Commonly known as disbeliever.