Words and Actions: "Jihad" and "Mujahadeen"

The following editorial is from the Jewish Advocate.

The recent advisory to U.S. officials from the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) to avoid referring publicly to al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups as Islamic or Muslim, and to refrain from using words like "jihad" or "mujahadeen," may be a good exercise in diplomacy, but it will likely do little to improve U.S.-Arab relations.

According to "Words that Work and Words that Don't: A Guide for Counter-Terrorism Communication," produced by the NCTC last month, the goal is to avoid reinforcing the U.S. vs. Islam framework that al Qaeda promotes.

Indeed, a former senior Bush administration official has been quoted as saying that a large percentage of the world's population subscribes to this religion and "unintentionally alienating them is not a judicious move."

So, instead of calling terrorist groups Muslim or Islamic, the NCTC's guide suggests using terms such as "totalitarian," "terrorist" or "violent extremist" to more accurately describe those who would indiscriminately kill Americans, Britons, Israelis and Europeans.

However, an Islamic official quoted [in a Jewish Advocate] story says that no matter what words are used, the Arab world does not trust the language coming from the White House or State Department and would rather see a change in action, presumably relating to the U.S. presence in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, the profiling of Arab people and the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo.

One Boston Jewish leader says this type of censorship on the part of U.S. officials is the "tip of a huge iceberg of idiocy" wherein they "refuse to describe the ideology and motives of our enemies, even as those enemies freely and proudly use those terms to describe themselves."

But by employing that language, the NCTC guide says that U.S. officials might inadvertently help legitimize terrorist actions in the eyes of Muslims. For example, the terms "jihadist" or "mujahadeen," which mean "striving in the path of God" and "holy warrior" respectively, have positive connotations that are not widely recognized by non-Muslim authorities.

Another guide produced by an American Muslim organization suggests officials should use terms such as "death cult," "cult-like" and "violent cultists" to describe al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

These suggestions are valid. Employing linguistic tools to avoid grouping millions of peaceful practitioners of Islam and those who distort it may be a good start in repairing the damage done to U.S.-Arab relations at the diplomatic and grassroots level.

But in addition to the change in word choices by U.S. officials, changes in the words used by Arab leaders who say one thing in English and another in Arabic must be made if there is to be any hope for better relations and peace in our time.

source: TheJewishAdvocate.com

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