The Arabic word kafir (literally the one who "covers", usually translated as "disbeliever"[citation needed] ) is the Muslim term commonly translated into English as infidel. In the Islamic doctrinal sense, the term refers to a person who does not recognize the one God (Allah) - atheists and polytheists - and not to religions such as Christianity, Judaism - who are seen as "People of the Book (Ahl-e-kitab)".
Kafir, like infidel, has also come to be regarded as offensive, thus some Muslim scholars discourage its use due to the Quran's command to use kind words. It is even a punishable offense to use this term against a Jew or a Christian, under Islamic law. Muslims today however do tend to use the term indiscriminately in reference to all non-Muslims.