China Removes Moslem Symbols

Muslims prefer the spelling muslim not moslem and is infact the spelling used in the article.

Moslem the way it is pronounced actually has negative meaning (opressor I think). Regardless of how one feels towards the billions of followers of islam, I am not in favor of calling them by a term they see as evil and derogatory, especially when it isn't even a quote from the article.

Original title: "Sign of the times: China's capital orders Arabic, Muslim symbols taken down"

I'm not sure why you felt you needed to change the spelling from Muslim to Moslem.

These days, the Moslem spelling is considered antiquated and may be a homonym for a negative Arabic word[1], making it uncomfortable for them to hear. I haven't asked any Arabic-speaking friends, so can't confirm that.

Otherwise, using the word is not unlike usage of "Oriental" to describe East Asian people -- it's not necessarily an insulting word in and of itself, but it has a troubling colonial history attached to it[2] that has led to it being considered insulting.

1. https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/524

2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/01/1...

Is there a risk that the Chinese are going to inflame the exact kind of revolt they're seeking to avoid? Isn't it just human nature to rebel against something that aims to subdue your culture?