How do you address (in a e-mail) a Muslim religious teacher who self-identifies himself as a “shaykh”?
— Paul in California
Dear Tonyalee:
Shaykh is a form of address used by some Shiite Islamic clerics. Both Sheikh and Shaykh (and many other variations) are attempts to write the Arabic word in phonetically English. It’s sort of equivalent to Catholic clergy using Father or protestant clergy using Pastor. On a e-mail you could address him as:
Dear Shaykh (surname),
(Text of your letter)
Sincerely,
Paul (your last name)
My book has a section that includes forms for the highest to lowest Shiite and Sunni Islamic clergy …which is as far as I know the only book in English to include them.
— Robert Hickey www.formsofaddress.info
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