Islamic

The word “Islamic” means relating to or characteristic of Islam, its followers, or its culture. In plain terms, the adjective form of Islam — describing anything connected to the religion or its culture.

“Islamic” is pronounced ihs-LAH-mihk (/ɪsˈlɑːmɪk/ in IPA).

Here is “Islamic” used in a sentence: “The museum has a large collection of Islamic art and calligraphy.”

“Islamic” is an adjective.

“Islamic” is a fairly common word in modern English.

Islamic describes things connected to the religion of Islam — Islamic art, Islamic law, Islamic history. Muslim describes a person who follows Islam, or communities of such people — a Muslim family, a Muslim country. In short, 'Islamic' relates to the faith and its culture, while 'Muslim' relates to its followers.

The two are very different. Islamic simply relates to the religion of Islam and its wide culture. Islamist refers specifically to political ideologies that seek to organise government and society around Islamic law. Most things described as Islamic — art, festivals, scholarship — have nothing to do with politics, so the words should not be treated as interchangeable.

No. Islamic relates to a religion, while Arabic relates to a language and to the Arab peoples and culture. The two overlap because Islam began in Arabia and its scripture is in Arabic, but most Muslims worldwide are not Arab — the largest Muslim populations are in South and Southeast Asia.

Islamic can describe a wide range of things linked to the faith and its culture: Islamic art and geometric design, Islamic architecture such as mosques, Islamic law known as sharia, the Islamic calendar, and Islamic scholarship. In each case the word signals a connection to the religion of Islam and its traditions.