Fully agree with both of these statements. Deny them legitimacy, but, how to wean them completely out of their Islamic support base, as their piety has many admirers? Well, over here in the Gulf states I am running a little experiment ... when speaking professionally I refer to AQ as "common criminals", not even terrorists. I clearly state that they are not Moslems but "apostates" and insist they not be considered Jihadis but bandits who use Islam and jihad as a mask to allow them to kill other Moslems outside of Allah's justice. When you show a chart of only 100-200 US soldiers and +20,000 Iraqi Moslems killed by AQ SVBIEDs (just car bombs, not IEDs), then one can almost state the effects of AQ's war is really weighted towards killing Moslems ... right after I apologize for the invasion of Iraq I usually say-
"But tell me, what Moslem loves to kill Moslems? An Apostate." My audience (75% local Arabs, 25% other Arabs) usually start to brighten up about that point. Because they see a way out in the argument of AQ vs USA.
This description of AQ absolves the Moslem audience of the unfortunate associations our politicians have been making with Islam. Once AQ are removed as legitimate co-religionists this framing gives them a purely Islamic way of rejecting them as criminals and non-believers. A light always goes on when I propose these frames. When I don't, I am deluged with arguments as to why they have legitimacy, right or wrong, as
Mujahideen.
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