AARoads Forum

Non-Road Boards => Off-Topic => Topic started by: bugo on October 11, 2014, 09:11:32 AM

Title: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: bugo on October 11, 2014, 09:11:32 AM
What are some Islamic placenames in the US? I would guess there are some near Dearborn, Michigan.
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: Pete from Boston on October 11, 2014, 10:04:29 AM
Salem, Mass.

What's an Islamic name, by the way?  Do you mean Arabic names, or places referencing people/places/ideas in the Koran and Islamic traditions?

Salem/Salaam/Shalom is all the same word said by different people.  Also a shirt form of Jerusalem, one of the holiest places in Islam.

You could say Mt. Abraham, VT.  Islam includes and builds off the other "Abrahamic" religions, and thus many of the countless "biblical" place names should count.  Take your pick of the thousands. 
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: kurumi on October 11, 2014, 12:55:42 PM
These come to mind:
Alhambra, CA
Medina, pick your state

Oh wait wait WAIT A MINUTE it's not just cities but states!
Al Abama or Allah Bama
Caliph Ornia
[72] Virginia

Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: NE2 on October 11, 2014, 02:22:31 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca_%28disambiguation%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagdad,_Florida

--removed link to non-existent article --SSO
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: DandyDan on October 11, 2014, 02:27:06 PM
Considering Spain used to be a Muslim country, there's probably a vast number of such places in the parts of the US that used to be Mexico.
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: roadman65 on October 11, 2014, 03:19:04 PM
Could Alexandria, VA and Alexandria, LA both be considered Muslim names being that one city in Egypt has that name?
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: Thing 342 on October 11, 2014, 03:49:57 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on October 11, 2014, 03:19:04 PM
Could Alexandria, VA and Alexandria, LA both be considered Muslim names being that one city in Egypt has that name?
No, as they're named after Alexander the Great, who was Greek (technically Macedonian).
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: roadman65 on October 11, 2014, 03:53:28 PM
Quote from: Thing 342 on October 11, 2014, 03:49:57 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on October 11, 2014, 03:19:04 PM
Could Alexandria, VA and Alexandria, LA both be considered Muslim names being that one city in Egypt has that name?
No, as they're named after Alexander the Great, who was Greek.
I kind of figured that one.  I just wanted to put a little humor into it.  However, I would not doubt, though, that someone out there would think what I suggested.  Maybe not here on this forum, but somewhere in this nation or world.
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: Zeffy on October 11, 2014, 04:00:28 PM
I'm pretty sure Memphis, Tennessee was named for the city of Memphis in Egypt.
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: Thing 342 on October 11, 2014, 04:06:21 PM
Quote from: Zeffy on October 11, 2014, 04:00:28 PM
I'm pretty sure Memphis, Tennessee was named for the city of Memphis in Egypt.
Also not technically Islamic. Memphis was mostly abandoned by the time Islam came around (7th Century AD).

Cairo, Illinois (namesake founded 10th Century AD) is an example.
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: mapman1071 on October 11, 2014, 09:50:23 PM
Baghdad, AZ
Baghdad, CA
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: hbelkins on October 11, 2014, 10:28:27 PM
Arab, Alabama.  :bigass:
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: J N Winkler on October 11, 2014, 10:57:58 PM
Google Maps reports that the US has about ten towns or CDPs named after Damascus.  The name itself, however, is attested as far back as the reign of Thutmose III (ca. 1400 BC), and is thought to be pre-Semitic in origin.

There is also an Aleppo in Pennsylvania and a St. Mary Aleppo in Kansas.  There are probably a great many more Bereas, however (Berea is the Greek/Roman name for Aleppo, itself an Italianization and then Anglicization of Halab, the Arabic name, which itself descends from Aramaic).
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: xcellntbuy on October 12, 2014, 06:38:23 AM
Delhi, NY
Cairo, NY
Cairo, IL
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: Brandon on October 12, 2014, 08:03:32 AM
Mohamet, IL

Mohamet is an older western term for Mohammad.
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: Pete from Boston on October 12, 2014, 09:38:29 AM
 Gibraltar, PA, WI, MI, CA

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibraltar :

QuoteThe name Gibraltar is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq (جبل طارق), meaning "Mountain of Tariq". It refers to the Rock of Gibraltar, which was named after the Umayyad general Tariq ibn-Ziyad who led the initial incursion into Iberia in advance of the main Umayyad force in 711 under the command of Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I.
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: NE2 on October 12, 2014, 10:55:39 AM
Quote from: xcellntbuy on October 12, 2014, 06:38:23 AM
Delhi, NY
what
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: tidecat on October 12, 2014, 04:44:52 PM
Bagdad, KY
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: DandyDan on October 13, 2014, 06:02:46 AM
Quote from: xcellntbuy on October 12, 2014, 06:38:23 AM
Delhi, NY
Cairo, NY
Cairo, IL
Also, Cairo, NE
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: bugo on October 13, 2014, 07:34:10 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on October 11, 2014, 10:04:29 AM
What's an Islamic name, by the way?  Do you mean Arabic names, or places referencing people/places/ideas in the Koran and Islamic traditions?

Arabic, Farsi...any of the languages spoken in majority Muslim countries, and especially placenames that are inspired by Islam in one way or the other.
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: Pete from Boston on October 13, 2014, 09:04:11 AM

Quote from: bugo on October 13, 2014, 07:34:10 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on October 11, 2014, 10:04:29 AM
What's an Islamic name, by the way?  Do you mean Arabic names, or places referencing people/places/ideas in the Koran and Islamic traditions?

Arabic, Farsi...any of the languages spoken in majority Muslim countries, and especially placenames that are inspired by Islam in one way or the other.

Java, Texas, meets the first part of this definition. 
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: cpzilliacus on October 13, 2014, 04:44:47 PM
Syria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria,_Virginia), Madison County, Virginia?
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: roadman65 on October 13, 2014, 04:59:10 PM
Palestine, TX.

Even though not pronounced the same way, some Muslim's believed that their god was punishing America by letting the Space Shuttle Columbia perish in the sky above the Texas city with the same name as the nation that should be where Israel is today.
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: Pete from Boston on October 13, 2014, 05:07:43 PM
Getting to heart of the problem with the question, Palestine is a millennia-old name for that region, not for a specific country, that predates the existence of Islam by 1000 years or more. 
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: Grzrd on October 13, 2014, 05:19:19 PM
Quote from: bugo on October 13, 2014, 07:34:10 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on October 11, 2014, 10:04:29 AM
What's an Islamic name, by the way?  Do you mean Arabic names, or places referencing people/places/ideas in the Koran and Islamic traditions?
... especially placenames that are inspired by Islam in one way or the other.
Quote from: kurumi on October 11, 2014, 12:55:42 PM
[72] Virginia

Similarly, Vestal, Virginia (http://virginia.hometownlocator.com/va/washington/vestal.cfm).  "Almost Heaven, Vestal, Virginia"?

A Yahoo Answer (https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110509134036AAnhmih).
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: roadman65 on October 13, 2014, 05:27:50 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on October 13, 2014, 05:07:43 PM
Getting to heart of the problem with the question, Palestine is a millennia-old name for that region, not for a specific country, that predates the existence of Islam by 1000 years or more. 
Yeah but they are fighting to keep the name, so they kind of adopted it.
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: Concrete Bob on October 13, 2014, 09:46:55 PM
There's Kerman, CA, which is about 20 miles west of Fresno on State Route 180.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerman,_California

Then, there is Kerman, Iran, in the southeast part of Iran.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerman
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: Brandon on October 14, 2014, 09:43:47 AM
Quote from: Grzrd on October 13, 2014, 05:19:19 PM
Quote from: bugo on October 13, 2014, 07:34:10 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on October 11, 2014, 10:04:29 AM
What's an Islamic name, by the way?  Do you mean Arabic names, or places referencing people/places/ideas in the Koran and Islamic traditions?
... especially placenames that are inspired by Islam in one way or the other.
Quote from: kurumi on October 11, 2014, 12:55:42 PM
[72] Virginia

Similarly, Vestal, Virginia (http://virginia.hometownlocator.com/va/washington/vestal.cfm).  "Almost Heaven, Vestal, Virginia"?

A Yahoo Answer (https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110509134036AAnhmih).

But, a Vestal Virgin comes from Rome, which predates Islam (and any Arab conquest) by several centuries.

And Virginia, WTF!?!  Virginia was named for Queen Elizabeth I, The Virgin Queen, as she never married.  Now, whether she was a virgin is up for debate, but, that's where the name comes from.
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: english si on October 14, 2014, 11:17:51 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on October 13, 2014, 05:07:43 PMPalestine is a millennia-old name for that region, not for a specific country, that predates the existence of Islam by 1000 years or more.
Ditto Syria and Lebanon for the areas to the north, though add another 1000 years for them!

A great many place names in Muslim-majority places pre-date Islam. There's a few that don't (Dar Es Salaam, for instance) and a few (eg Mecca, Medina) that copying is clearly pushing the Islamic connection.
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: NE2 on October 18, 2014, 11:20:35 PM
Quote from: McConaughey on October 18, 2014, 10:48:59 PM
Tulsa
That's the capital of Florida.
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: bugo on October 19, 2014, 08:33:35 AM
Quote from: McConaughey on October 18, 2014, 10:48:59 PM
Tulsa

Is a Creek word.
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: bassoon1986 on October 20, 2014, 06:38:54 PM
Quote from: Thing 342 on October 11, 2014, 03:49:57 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on October 11, 2014, 03:19:04 PM
Could Alexandria, VA and Alexandria, LA both be considered Muslim names being that one city in Egypt has that name?
No, as they're named after Alexander the Great, who was Greek (technically Macedonian).


Actually, the one in LA was named after Alexander Fulton, a businessman who began the settlement here.
Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: SP Cook on October 20, 2014, 09:48:39 PM
Arab is a racial/ethnic group.  An Arab, like anybody else, can be of any or no religion.  Most, but by far not all, Arabs worldwide are Islamic.  Most people of Arabic ethnic background in the USA are, or are descended from persons in the Orthodox Christian minority. 

Muslim/Islam is a religion, not a race.  Most Muslims are not Arabs.  A Muslim can be of any racial or ethnic group.  The largest majority (85%) Muslim country is Indonesia.  Indonesians are an east Asian people, ethnically unrelated to Arabs or any other Caucasian ethnicity.   The largest Islamic country with virtually 100% Muslim population is Pakistan.  Pakistanis are ethnically Indian.

Arabia is an ill defined areas at the junction of Europe, Asia, and Africa, AKA the "Middle East".  Palestine is obviously an alternative word for the area currently controlled by Israel, and flush with political disagreements best not gone into.  It is part of Arabia, as are Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, etc.

The Islam religion did not exist until something around 600 AD.

Therefore any place name, simply because it is in Arabia or any other place in the Middle East such as Iran (Iranians are not Arabs, but rather Persians) is not an "Islamic" placename.  It would simply be a name taken from an area where today most, but not all people are Muslims.  Most having been named long before 600 AD.

An "Islamic placename" would be one named for a character found only in the Koran (about 80% of the Koran was lifted from the Old Testament of the Bible, and thus places like Jerusalem or Abraham would not count, since the namers were obviously referencing the Bible version) or for a Muslim person or for a place founded or named by a Muslim after 600 AD. 

Of all the above suggestions, the only ones that might qualify is Mahomet, IL, which, at least according to Wiki, was named for the local Mason's lodge (Shriners, a subset of the Masons, lift Islamic and Arabic terminology for their club, much to the displeasure of most Muslims and most Arabs), the various  Gibraltars, and the various Meccas (although Mecca existed before Islam, it was an insignificant town). 

Title: Re: Islamic placenames in the United States
Post by: Pete from Boston on October 20, 2014, 10:44:02 PM

Quote from: SP Cook on October 20, 2014, 09:48:39 PM
Arab is a racial/ethnic group.  An Arab, like anybody else, can be of any or no religion.  Most, but by far not all, Arabs worldwide are Islamic.  Most people of Arabic ethnic background in the USA are, or are descended from persons in the Orthodox Christian minority. 

Muslim/Islam is a religion, not a race.  Most Muslims are not Arabs.  A Muslim can be of any racial or ethnic group.  The largest majority (85%) Muslim country is Indonesia.  Indonesians are an east Asian people, ethnically unrelated to Arabs or any other Caucasian ethnicity.   The largest Islamic country with virtually 100% Muslim population is Pakistan.  Pakistanis are ethnically Indian.

Arabia is an ill defined areas at the junction of Europe, Asia, and Africa, AKA the "Middle East".  Palestine is obviously an alternative word for the area currently controlled by Israel, and flush with political disagreements best not gone into.  It is part of Arabia, as are Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, etc.

The Islam religion did not exist until something around 600 AD.

Therefore any place name, simply because it is in Arabia or any other place in the Middle East such as Iran (Iranians are not Arabs, but rather Persians) is not an "Islamic" placename.  It would simply be a name taken from an area where today most, but not all people are Muslims.  Most having been named long before 600 AD.

An "Islamic placename" would be one named for a character found only in the Koran (about 80% of the Koran was lifted from the Old Testament of the Bible, and thus places like Jerusalem or Abraham would not count, since the namers were obviously referencing the Bible version) or for a Muslim person or for a place founded or named by a Muslim after 600 AD. 

Of all the above suggestions, the only ones that might qualify is Mahomet, IL, which, at least according to Wiki, was named for the local Mason's lodge (Shriners, a subset of the Masons, lift Islamic and Arabic terminology for their club, much to the displeasure of most Muslims and most Arabs), the various  Gibraltars, and the various Meccas (although Mecca existed before Islam, it was an insignificant town).

It's a flawed premise, one of many on this board. It was addressed, and the original poster has already clarified his question.

Quote from: bugo on October 13, 2014, 07:34:10 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on October 11, 2014, 10:04:29 AM
What's an Islamic name, by the way?  Do you mean Arabic names, or places referencing people/places/ideas in the Koran and Islamic traditions?

Arabic, Farsi...any of the languages spoken in majority Muslim countries, and especially placenames that are inspired by Islam in one way or the other.