Talk:madrasah
Latest comment: 9 years ago by Equinox in topic Please clarify: "(Islam)"
Please clarify: "(Islam)"[edit]
Not clear what it means to be an "Islamic" word. Do Indonesian Muslims,, e.g., refer to ordinary schools as "madrassas"? Or am I misunderstanding something?Andyvphil 14:08, 19 December 2007 (UTC)
- Note that this is the definition of the English word. The Arabic, of course, just means "school"; but the English borrowing specifically refers to Islam. Words are often borrowed into English to provide specific meanings.
- A parallel that you might be familiar with: the English word safari means trip to see wild animals in Africa. It is borrowed from the Swahili safari#Swahili, which just means a trip or journey, maybe to go buy milk. Robert Ullmann 14:53, 19 December 2007 (UTC)
- He/she obviously spoke of English-speaking Muslims. And he's right: They don't call any school "madrasah". So there's indeed a problem in the definition.
- The Islam gloss means that the word is used in the context of talking about Islam. You don't have to be a Muslim to use the word. Equinox ◑ 21:59, 28 March 2015 (UTC)