Is there a halachic issue with referring to a Muslim imam by the title "Imam" (or "Imam ______" with the person's name inserted in place of the underscore)?
Here are the thoughts that lead me to ask this question: The Arabic word "imam" means something like "leader" (according to Wiktionary), which seems like a pretty harmless term to use. On the other hand, perhaps lending this sort of kavod to a Muslim religious leader is inappropriate in that it legitimizes Islam, which we may not want to promote. (A possible precedent for this could be how Rav Moshe Feinstein writes ראביי instead of רב when he is referring to non-Orthodox Jewish clergy; even though both terms have the same etymological origin, Rav Moshe does not want to legitimize non-Orthodox Judaism through the use of the honorific רב.)
