anti-Iranian sentiment

Anti-Iranian sentiment, also known as Anti-Persian sentiment, Persophobia, or Iranophobia, is feelings and expression of hostility, hatred, discrimination, or prejudice towards Iran (known as Persia in the Western world) and its culture and towards persons based on their association with Iran and Iranian culture. Its opposite is Persophilia. Historically, prejudice against the Iranian people (and ethnic Persians in particular) was prominent in the Arab world, particularly following the Arab invasion of Iran and the collapse of the Sasanian Empire in the 7th century. In the Arab world "Ajam" The word "ʻajam" is derived from the root ʻ-J-M and refers to "unclear, vague and/or incomprehensible" as opposed to "ʻarabi", which means "clear, understandable; with perfect Arabic tongue". ʻAjam came to mean "one who mumbles" or “has difficulty speaking”, similar to the Slavic ethnonym and their usage of "mutes" to refer to Germans. It came to be "applied especially to Persians", and the distinction of the two terms is found already in pre- and early Islamic literature (ʻAjam Temtemī). "In general, ajam was a pejorative term, used by Arabs because of their contrived social and political superiority in early Islam.", as summarized by Clifford Bosworth. Although Arabic dictionaries state that the word ʻajami is used for all non-Arabs, the designation was primarily used for Persians.