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- See kaffir lime for the condiment
- See kaffir for the derogatory Afrikaans term for native Africans.
Kafir (or kāfir; plural Kuffar, kuffār) is an Arabic word meaning "denier" or "concealer." The Turkish form is Gavur. In a religious context it generally means a person who is not of the People of the book, however it is often used to mean "person who disbelieves in Islam" or "infidel" . The noun kufr means "not believing in God" or "blasphemy, atheism." In Fiqh, the term amounts to the equivalent of Christian excommunication. The verb, "to declare someone a kafir" is takfir. For example, the novelist Salman Rushdie was declared a kafir in the Fatwa of Ayatollah Khomeini.
According to some scholars in Islam, the correct use of the word kafir in Islamic theology does not include either Christians, Samaritans, Jews, and all "Sabians" who are covered by the term Ahl-al-Kitab, or "People of the Book," because they are considered recipients of divine revelation from Allah. However, other scholars, such as those backing militant Islamists, often do not make the distinction in their rhetoric and do often use it to include these religious communities, or any enemy.