Gulf War II's new name for the enemy: Hajji

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 15:58:12 -0500
From: greg allen <greg () greg org>
Subject: Gulf War II's new name for the enemy: Hajji
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>

Hey Dave,

The Raleigh NandO's Jay Price is still embedded with the 82nd Airborne in 
Iraq.  He wrote a month ago about the US troops' broad derogatory use of 
the term "hajji" when referencing Iraqis, even Kuwaitis and East Indian 
contractors in Iraq.

While it's tempting to dismiss the name as a reference to the cartoon 
character, Jonny Quest's best friend,  it's alarming to note that unlike 
gook or kraut or towelhead before it, hajji is not originally a derogatory 
term: it's an honorific, applied to Muslims who have made the pilgrimage to 
Mecca (aka, the hajj).

http://www.newsobserver.com/iraq/82nd_embed/story/2906050p-2674806c.html

Use if for IP if you like.  The article's a month old, but it's only shown 
up in a few weblogs recently, and no other media appears to have addressed 
it at all.

Regards,
Greg Allen
greg.org
bloghdad.com

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