Islam, Catholisism, religion, and conflict

**J Singh** · 07-15-2014

As an example (the current administration being no better than the previous one in regards to the matter), the following internalized propaganda-speak just makes one shake one's head in disbelief:

Don't call them jihadists any more. And don't call al-Qaeda a movement. The Bush administration has launched a new front in the war on terrorism, this time targeting language. Federal agencies, including the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counter Terrorism Center, are telling their people not to describe Islamic extremists as "jihadists" or "mujahedeen," according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Lingo like "Islamo-fascism" is out, too. The reason: Such words may actually boost support for radicals among Arab and Muslim audiences by giving them a veneer of religious credibility or by causing offense to moderates.

Excluding the cited author's own framing bias, the first rationale makes little sense. The target audience doesn't look to the US government, which has zero religious authority, to define jihadists and the mujahideen as something else. The second rationale is pure politically correct pablum.

"Regarding 'jihad,' even if it is accurate to reference the term, it may not be strategic because it glamorizes terrorism, imbues terrorists with religious authority they do not have and damages relations with Muslims around the world," the report says.

"Even if it is accurate?" The deceptive halo is one that does not apply to the target audience. Again, the US government is in zero position to determine if the jihadists have religious authority. Completely left out of this is that it is not the lexicon that the US government chooses to use that 'damages relations with Muslims around the world' but rather interventionist neo-Wilsonian foreign policy.

"Don't compromise our credibility" by using words and phrases that may ascribe benign motives to terrorists.

This statement is such an epic fail on so many levels.

Reference URL: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...535863,00.html