the word "islamist"

Submitted by Gary Goldman (United States), Sep 23, 2003 at 13:54

To defeat Islamists it will be necessary to stop calling them Islamists, because opposing "Islamism" sounds too much like opposing Islam itself. Of course Islamists want to co-opt the name of Islam, just as fundamentalist Christians use the term Christian to refer to their specific group. But we should not aid religious extremists by using their terms for themselves. A proper new term must be coined and introduced, and the word "Islamist" must be rendered unacceptable in public discourse. At the very least, it must be modified by "so-called" or "self-proclaimed."

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".