Is it offensive to say inshallah?

[Loulou599]

I think it's a really beautiful sound and is more wistful than saying touch wood or god willing, but would it be offensive (if you're not muslim)?

There may have been a time when kosher was less mainstream?
It's not odd to use inshallah imo so it probably depends where you live.

I use it, culture and language changes shape, according to the people within it. Britain has become more Muslim surely it makes sense we start to use some different phrases? Our culture changes slightly?

The key thing is so far the Muslims on the thread don’t take offence.
No use getting worked up over nothing. Language changes and will continue to change with different influences. From all religions in the country, new countries that people migrate from etc

@Iinventedmckenzie, but how long before something French is considered acceptable parlance? 😉

What about the use of, apéritif or cul de sac? I’m genuinely curious when it becomes acceptable.

I think using it, if you are not muslim or an arabic speaker, would make you sound like a teenager who was trying rather too hard to be different and cool, and not quite getting it right.

I’m a theologian. I spent thirty years in the Middle East and have worked with faith leaders in Islam, Judaism and Christianity. I’ve come across plenty of people who make the claim you are making because they don’t understand the difference between “different Gods” and “different understandings about God”.

Are you talking to me?

I am not Muslim and use it am familiar with it from literature mostly. It's just like saying "God willing"... so why would it be offensive?

I suppose the Christian version of this is 'God willing' - does that do it for you?

Ah, I had a feeling you were being disingenuous alright!

There are no English words for cul de sac or aperitif. So they would always be acceptable.

"Bon app" when you don't speak French is weird (to me) and a bit....try hard😬. But others will find it charming I'm sure. I don't though and you can't make me 😜

Muslims believe our God are the same, but Christians have a detail wrong. The writings are about the same religious history, and they respect Jesus (pbuh) as a great prophet. Don't go saying what all Christians believe unless you know all Christians. And what they have read and been taught. That sort of thinking leads to trouble.

But you just appeared to state what all Muslims believe...?

Also, it's rather crass and offensive to dismiss the mainstream basic Christian belief that Jesus is the Son of God as nothing more than 'a detail that they have wrong'.

If you read late Victorian literature it popped up all the time, and it was assumed readers weren't too pig ignorant to understand it.

All my direct neighbours are Muslim (four of 'em) and it seems weird to me that there are still people on here who don't think Muslim culture and language are going to be increasingly influential in coming decades.

Non Christians say "oh my God" all the time. It's no more odd than that. (And that is offensive to Christians as it's taking the lord's name in vain which is against one of the commandments)

""Bon app" when you don't speak French is weird (to me) and a bit....try hard😬."

OMG. I thought it was the acceptable phrase in English too as 'enjoy your meal' is generally a restaurant thing and not something you say in a home.
Bon voyage when someone goes on a trip too. I got a card with bon voyage on it 30 years ago. Is that acceptable to you?

Non Christians say "oh my God" all the time. It's no more odd than that. (And that is offensive to Christians as it's taking the lord's name in vain which is against one of the commandments)

Yes, agreed... but then isn't that potentially confirming in the positive the query that OP asked, about non-Muslims freely using a phrase that includes the name of Allah?

Christians have largely become resigned to people taking the names of God and Jesus in vain, as it's become so very mainstream; but that doesn't mean that something is no longer offensive to somebody, just because a majority of people (albeit non-deliberately) cause that offence.

In my circles, which are very multicultural, inshallah is used often. Nobody would bat an eye at it’s use.

Same as most of the other “foreign” phrases quoted upthread. Language is constantly evolving and incorporating words and phrases from other nations and cultures. It has always been so. That’s how languages work.

So I (respectfully - I don't find my cheery tone always comes across in text) find this attitude more strange than OP's tbh.

Fait accompli, laissez-faire, doppelgänger, mauvais quart d'heure, schadenfreude, ad nauseum, in verbatim ... my family are by no means bilingual but we use phrases borrowed from other languages almost daily.

The white middle class children of Hampstead and Highgate also love using a bit of patois as as slang, or at least they did in my day.

Don't panic @Gwenhwyfar! I'm sure most people don't have a problem with it.

I wouldn't say bon voyage to a non French speaker. I wouldn't throw a fit and say it was unacceptable if someone said it to me though. I'd maybe think it a bit strange though, but that's life.

Hope that eases your mind!

But you can't make the argument that it's offensive for @Loulou599 to say Inshallah if she isn't Muslim but then imply that it's not offensive for her to use God speed or God willing if she isn't Christian . Cultural appropriation goes both ways!

hi, yes. i think it's offensive to just say it and religiously appropriate, when you are not Muslim. it's also weird to use it when you don't even speak Arabic. you might sound silly using it randomly to people who do speak Arabic and use it to mean "if it is willed by Allah". it would feel like a mockery and maybe taken the wrong way especially amongst people you don't know.

it's not much different when swearing by saying "Jesus Christ" - it's offensive to Christians. even more if you say it in front of them.

what you could do is meet Muslims and learn about Islam to educate yourself about where it comes from, the meaning behind it and why it is a big part of their vocabulary. always an opportunity to learn about others :)

Bit pointless unless it's to folk who know what it means.

"I wouldn't throw a fit and say it was unacceptable if someone said it to me though. I'd maybe think it a bit strange though, but that's life."

So you wouldn't accept that bon voyage is an accepted expression in English?
Are you some kind of English purist? I don't think your attitude is normal.

true.

🤷‍♀️ @Gwenhwyfar sorry to hear you think that, but I'll live! Bon voyage 👋

"bon appetit", surely?