al-majus

Al-Majus (المجوس) is an Arabic term that originally referred to the Iranian Magi, the priestly caste of Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. Known in the Western historical memory as the Persian Magi, these ancient wise men were skilled in astronomy, astrology and esoteric philosophy. The word ‘magus’ (from Old Persian ‘magush‘), is a Latin term for a magician or a philosopher, and the ancestor of the modern English word ‘magic.’

Embraced in the Quran as ahl al-Kitab (a people of the book), Zoroastrians were generally protected by early Muslim rulers, especially within Iran; however, the term al-Majus has also been used historically and in modern sectarian contexts as a pejorative for all Iranians, with the implication that Iranians and Shia Muslims are actually covert practitioners of pre-Islamic beliefs.