Lost In Translation

[eternauta]

War On Terror: Caving to Muslim pressure groups, the Bush administration has banned the term "jihadist" to define the enemy. Islamic terrorists will now be known as "violent extremists."

Our war on radical Islam has been hamstrung by political correctness from the start. First, we couldn't call the campaign to strike back at al-Qaida a "crusade" because Muslims found it historically offensive.

Then we couldn't define the enemy as "Islamic terrorists" because it insulted Islam - even though it accurately described the Muslims committing murder and mayhem in the name of Islam.

To appease critics, we narrowed the terminology, confining it to the jihadist element within Islam. And so officials in recent years have frequently referred to "jihad" or "jihadists" in public.

Only now they can't describe terrorists as "jihadists," either, because Muslim leaders complain that it, too, gives Islam a bad name. But jihad, or holy war, is a central tenet of the faith. In fact, jihad is often referred to as the "sixth pillar of Islam."

Even "mujahedeen," or Islamic freedom fighter, is a no-no in the new watered-down Washington lexicon. And "Islamofascism" is definitely out.

All this is in a memo circulating among federal agencies. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, for one, no longer uses "jihadist."

The memo draws heavily on a Homeland Security report that examined the way American Muslims reacted to how U.S. officials describe terrorists and recommended ways to neuter their language.

The Homeland Security report, titled "Terminology to Define the Terrorists: Recommendations from American Muslims," does not say which Muslims made the recommendations.

But after President Bush a few years back described the enemy as "Islamofascists," Karen Hughes at the State Department got an earful from the Council on American-Islamic Relations. And Bush quickly dropped the term.

Now, the Islamic Society of North America is demanding that GOP presidential candidate John McCain stop using the adjective "Islamic" to describe terrorists.

To his credit, Sen. McCain has not backed down.

CAIR and ISNA argue that Westerners confuse jihad for holy war, that its broader meaning in Islam is to struggle to do good. Funny, because both groups last year made a Justice Department list of fronts for the Muslim Brotherhood, which advocates violent jihad.

Words matter in war, especially how we define our foe. We can't defeat Islamofascists if we don't understand their motivations.

http://www.investors.com/editorial/edit ... 6511387128

[eternauta]

Terms to use and avoid when talking about terrorism

Some do's and don't's from the National Counterterrorism Center:

_ Don't use the term "jihadist," which has broader religious meanings beyond war, or "mujahedeen," which refers to holy warriors.

_ Do say "violent extremist" or "terrorist."

_ Don't use the term "al-Qaida movement," because this makes al-Qaida seem like a legitimate political movement.

_ Don't use "Islamo-fascism" and other terms that could cause religious offense.

_ Do use the term "totalitarian."

_ Don't label groups simply as "Muslim."

_ Do use descriptive terms to define how a group fits into society. For example: South Asian youth and Arab opinion leaders.

_ Don't use "caliphate" when explaining al-Qaida's goals, as this has positive implications.

_ Don't use "salafi," "Wahhabist," "sufi," "ummah" and other words from Islamic theology unless you are able to discuss their varied meanings. Particularly avoid using "ummah" to mean the Muslim world, as it is a theological term.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5govb ... gD908CV2O0