the world

[James A. Landau]

In a message dated  Mon, 4 Oct 2004 21:12:08 -0400,  Wilson Gray
<wilson.gray at RCN.COM> writes:

>  By the time that I was in the sixth grade, we knew that Muslims were
>  "infidels," to the extent that "infidel" was used as a schoolyard
>  taunt. this was at the colored-Catholic grade school in Marshall, TX,
>  where we were taught by black nuns of the Order of the Holy Family.

There is some term in Arabic that Muslims use in a derogatory sense to refer
to non-Muslims.  That term is commonly translated into English as "infidel".
Hence "infidel" can be used in either direction, and unlike "goy" become
ambiguous out of context.

By the way, both sides are wrong.  "Infidel" comes from "in" not + "fidel"
faithful.  Properly a Muslim should consider a Christian not as "unfaithful" but
rather as faithful to the wrong faith.  And vice versa.

The only unambiguous use of "infidel" is therefore in Cuba, when used to
refer to someone who is not a follower of Castro.

     - James Landau

PS If "the world" means the totality of non-members of one's religion, is
that why the Plain Folk refer to non-plain folk as "worldly"?