Ajam

"Ajami" redirects here. For , see .

Ajam (عجم) in Arabic literally means "one who is illiterate in a language" or "mute", and is in reference to non-Arabs, and sometimes specifically Persians. It is considered a derogatory term by Persians, [link]Cut and paste the following address to access the pdf file: http://www.iranchamber.com/podium/history/030506_persians_just_non_greek.pdf.

According to The Political Language of Islam, Ajam was originally used as a reference to denote those whom Arabs in the Arabian peninsula viewed as 'alien' or outsiders.[link] The early application of the term included all of the peoples with whom the Arabs had contact including Persians, Greeks, Ethiopians, and the somewhat related Nabataeans and this usage has persisted to this day. In much of the non-Arabic speaking muslim world the term does not have any perjorative meaning as the word is accepted to mean anyone who is non Arabic speaking. Muhammad in his last sermon to the muslims used the word ajami in the same way,

::All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over an Ajami nor an Ajami has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black, nor a black has any superiority over a white - except by piety and good action.

During the early age of the Caliphates, Ajam was often synonymous for stranger. In the eastern portions of the Middle East, it was generally applied to the Persians, while in al-Andalus it referred to speakers of Romance languages - becoming "Aljamiado" in Spanish in reference to Arabic-script writing of those languages - and in West Africa, Ajami similarly refers to the writing of local languages such as Hausa and Fulani in the Arabic alphabet.

Contents

1 Etymology and usage
2 \"Ajam\" as referring to \"Persians\"
3 Other different usage
4 References
5 See also

Etymology and usage

`ajam has two primary meanings in Arabic: "non-Arab" and "Persian".[link]

The word `ajam comes from the Arabic root `-j-m; related forms of the same root include, but are not limited to ([Lisan al-Arab]):

`ajama / 'a`jama / `ajjama: to dot - in particular, to add the dots that distinguish between various Arabic letters to a text (and hence make it easier for a non-native Arabic speaker to read). Now an obsolete term, since all modern Arabic texts are dotted. This may also be linked to `ajaam / `ajam: pit/seed (eg of a date or grape).
in`ajama: (of speech) to be incomprehensible
ista`jama: to fall silent; to be unable to speak
'a`jam: non-fluent
musta`jim: mute, incapable of speech

Homophonous words, which may or may not be derived from the same root, include:

`ajama: to test (a person); to try (a food).

\"Ajam\" as referring to \"Persians\"

According to Encyclopedia Iranica, the word "ajam" was "applied especially to Persians" by the Arabs and means "to mumble, and speak indistinctly"Encyclopedia Iranica, p.700., which is the opposite of the meaning "chaste", "correct", and "Arabic language". ibid.

"The distinction of Arab and Ajam is already discernable in pre- and early Islamic literature Cf. the Ajam Temtemī ("stuttering barbarian")." ibid (also mentioned in Goldziher. ''Muhammedanische Studien I. p.103. tr I, p.99)

"In general, ajam was a pejorative term, used by Arabs conscious of their social and political superiority, in early Islam."Encyclopedia Iranica, p.700

Other different usage

Among Kurds, the term Ajam (Ecem in Kurdish, Pron: عجم) is used to refer to Persians and Azeris [link], [link],[link],[link], [link].
Adjam, Hajjam, Ajaim, Ajami, Akham (as Axam in Spain for ajam), Ayam in eastern Europe.
In Turkish, the usage of the term is not applied to any ethnic group, but instead appears to have evolved from the original Arabic usage for outsiders in-general and shifted into a different meaning as the term ajemi (in modern Turkish acemi) literally means clumsy, inept or novice.
In Iraq Ajam is primarily used to refer to Shias, especially to those of Iranian origin.
looking for names Ajam [link]

Ajam

Etymology and usage

\"Ajam\" as referring to \"Persians\"

Other different usage

References

See also