A Policy Shift in "War on Terror" Lexicon

With less than a year left in office, the Bush administration is rewriting its "war on terror" lexicon. Officials in federal agencies have been asked not to use the terms jihadists and mujahideen, describe al-Qaida as a movement, or refer to Islamo-fascism.

Staff of the state department, homeland security department and national counterterrorism center, as well as diplomats and other officials, have been told that various words in common use may actually boost support for extremists among Arab and Muslim audiences by giving them a veneer of religious credibility or causing offence to moderates. Source: Hannity Forum, Terrorism and Language: A Policy Shift

It appears to me that changing the language that one uses as directed by federal agencies fantasy-based policymaking.

I wonder who the consultants were who advised the Bush Administration to change the names to protect the innocents?  The usual suspects come to mind.  It appears to me that the real losers are those most affected by "hard" Jihad and terrorism.

Islam is divided into two camps, Dar al Harb (The abode of war), and Dar al Islam (The abode of Islam). Dar al Harb is the up front and in your face violent extremists, "Hard Jihad."

Dar al Islam in locked in an internal struggle with the west for identity and professes the Pillars of Islam: "Soft" Jihad

Dar al Islam struggles internally in a secular world striving to live a moral and virtuous life, spreading and defending Islam as well as fighting injustice and oppression.

The end result for both extremist fundamentalists and moderates are to encourage non-Muslims to convert to Islam.

The basic creed of Islam is known as The Shahadah: "'Ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh", or "I testify that there is no god (ilah) but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah". The Qur'an and Hadith instructs the Muslims life and also encourages him (and her) to promulgate for the faith and encourage non believes to submit to the will of allah.

Infidels (كفّار ) kuffār beware. 

By limiting how an Infidel talks about and identifies the idiosyncrasies of Islam, it will be difficult to identify and defeat an enemy (radical Islamist) we refuse to know and understand.

To sum it up, I would like to quote a very good friend

Cancer goes away if you call it a head cold.

Be Ever Vigilant,

Bosun

Technorati tags: infidels, kuffar, qur'an, hadith, jihad, dar al islam, dar al harb, hard jihad, soft jihad, internal struggle