Is it improper to call Islam Mohammedism?

Answer 1

Answer 1

• I think that Islam should be called as it is, just as "Islam". First & foremost because this is the name which the prophet Muhammad Himself taught & it's the name that was mentioned by Allah, the Almighty in the holy Quran.
• It would seem with a name like "Muhammadism" as if we believe ONLY in the prophet Muhmmad, may Allah grant Him with peace & blessings, while we actually believe in all God's prophets including Noah (Nuh), Ibrahim(Abraham),Mousa(Moses), Essa (Jesus),Muhammad .....etc.may Allah grant them all with peace & blessings.
• In fact, Islam means the total submission to Allah,the only one God with nothing associated to Him at all. This is the major message conveyed by all of the prophets not just by the prophet Muhammad PBUH. This is why we belong to all of the prophets & this is why Islam is the oldest message of Allah.

Answer 2

The word "Mohammedism" does not exist. Perhaps the questioner means to ask about "Mohammedanism" which was the historical term used for Islam. Mohammedanism is considered today to be an improper appelation for Islam for two reasons.

1) Coinage: One of the main reasons that Mohammedan is unacceptable is how it was coined. Christian comes from Christ-ian, which means someone who believes in Jesus Christ. Christianity therefore is the religion built around believing in Christ. Christians believed that Muslims believed in Mohammed the same way that they believed in Jesus. That was how Mohammed-an came into existence. Of course, with current theological exchanges, Christians are now aware that Muslims do not see Mohammed as a Messiah, God, or anything similar to the Christian conception of Jesus Christ. As a result, the term Mohammedan was withdrawn as it incorrectly drew a parallel between Christianity and Islam. In order to avoid further offense by creating an odd name that Muslims would not identify with, Westerners took the Arabic word "Islam" straight into their languages to describe the religion.

2) Non-Exclusivity of Mohammed: In Islam, Mohammed is "only" the capstone of the prophets as opposed to the common misconception among non-Muslims that Mohammed is the only Islamic prophet. In the Islamic conception, Mohammed was only sent to clarify the errors of the previous monotheistic religions and "restore" the previously extant religion of Islam before it was corrupted. As a result, Mohammed's importance derives not from his founding of the religion (since the religion is part of humanity since Adam), but his exposition of the Qur'an which provides clarity to original religion. In the ears of most Muslims, calling Islam as Mohammedanism gives Mohammed too much stake in the creation of the religion. Islam means "Surrender to the Divine Will" and, in the Islamic conception, gives due praise to the actual founder of the religion: God.