Mahound

Mahound or Mahoun is a contemptuous name for Mohammad the prophet of Islam , found in Medieval and later European literature. This version of the name, or variants of it, came to be strongly associated with anti-Muslim attitudes in Western Christendom. It was especially connected to the belief that Muhammad was a god worshipped by Muslims, or that he was a demon who inspired a false religion.

Pejorative connotations

The belief that Muslims worshipped Muhammad was common in Medieval Europe. According to Bernard Lewis, the "development of the concept of Mahound started with considering Muhammad as a kind of demon or false god worshipped with Apollyon and Termangant in an unholy trinity [in the song of Roland]. Finally after reformation, Muhammad was conceived as a cunning and self-seeking imposter."

A variant of this belief was the claim that the Knights Templar worshipped a god called Baphomet, also widely interpreted as a variant of the name "Mahommet".

The name acquired the connotation of "devil" or "spirit of darkness" in colloquial usage.

In literature

The name appears in various medieval mystery plays, in which Mahound is sometimes portrayed as a generic "pagan" god worshipped by villains such as Herod and the Pharaoh of the Exodus. One play depicts both Herod the Great and his son Herod Antipas as worshipping Mahound, while in another play Pharaoh encourages the Egyptians to pursue the Israelites into the Red Sea with the words: Heave up you hearts ay to Mahound.

In Scottish popular culture the variant form "Mahoun" was also used as the name of the devil, who was called Old Mahoun. Robert Burns wrote

"The Deil cam fiddlin thro' the town,
And danc'd awa wi' th'Exciseman;
And ilka wife cries auld Mahoun,
I wish you luck o' the prize, man."

G. K. Chesterton also refers to this idea in his poem Lepanto. More recently, Salman Rushdie, in his novel The Satanic Verses, chose the name Mahound to refer to Muhammad as he appears in one character's dreams. However, he is not identified as Satan in that work.

Translation of "Mahound"

Persian: محوند, Italian: Mahund.