Nope. Didn't know and don't care. Religion has nothing to do with my statements. Three years of experience in Iraq and the Middle East has everything to do with it. Hate and racism is RAMPANT there. Nothing personal against you Joe, so please don't take it that way. It is what it is.
As a Muslim, you must know what the word
KAFIR means. I was called this at least once everyday for three years while in theater and even while I was on vacation in Dubai and Kuwait City. Just in case you don't know the term, here is the translation from Wikipedia:
Kafir (
Arabic:
كافر kāfir; plural
كفّار kuffār) is a term used in a
Islamic doctrinal sense, usually translated as "unbeliever" or "disbeliever", or sometimes "
infidel". The term refers to a person who rejects
God or who hides, denies, or "covers" the truth. The Quran also uses the word for Muslims; in Sura 2 Verse 256, it asks them to take upon themselves the action of "Kofr" of all unjust idols, persons or powers.
In recent times, the Arabic term used as a loanword in English is seen as derogatory, which is why some
Muslim scholars discourage its use and suggest the term "non-Muslim" instead.
[1]
The word
kaffir, sometimes spelled
kaffer or
kafir, is an offensive term for a
black person, most common in
South Africa and other African countries. Generally considered a racial or
ethnic slur in modern usage, it was previously a neutral term for black southern
African people.
The original meaning of the word is '
heathen', 'unbeliever' or 'infidel', from the Arabic '
kafir' and is still being used with this meaning by Muslims.
[1] The Arabic term
Kafir (arab كافر) is, however, also applied to simply anyone who is not a Muslim. Portuguese explorers used the term generally to describe tribes they encountered in southern Africa, probably having misunderstood its etymology from
Muslim traders along the coast. European colonists subsequently continued its use.
[2] Although it was in wide use between the 16th and 19th centuries, and not generally seen as an offensive term, as racial tensions increased in 20th century
South Africa and the surrounding countries, it became a term of abuse.
The word was used in
English,
Dutch and, later,
Afrikaans, from the 16th century to the early 20th century as a general term for several different peoples of southern
Africa. In
Portuguese the equivalent
cafre was used.
In South Africa today, the term is used both as an insult, and by some, as a common word for a black person. In any case, the term is regarded by most as derogatory (in the same way as "
nigger" in other countries). Use of the word has been actionable in South African courts since at least 1976 under the offense of
crimen injuria:
"the unlawful, intentional and serious violation of the dignity of another".
[3]