Islamic terrorism

== Terminology ==
[[George W. Bush]] and [[Tony Blair]]  (US president and UK Prime Minister respectively at the time of the [[September 11 attacks]]) repeatedly stated that the war against terrorism has nothing to do with Islam.<ref name="Bar">{{cite web |last1=Bar |first1=Shmuel |title=The Religious Sources of Islamic Terrorism |url=https://www.hoover.org/research/religious-sources-islamic-terrorism |website=Hoover Institute |access-date=12 August 2019 |date=1 June 2004}}</ref>  Others inside and out of the Islamic world who oppose its use on the grounds there is no connection between Islam and terrorism include  [[Imran Khan]], the prime minister of Pakistan, and academic [[Bruce Lawrence]].<ref name="IK-6-19">{{cite news |title=Islam has no connection with terrorism: Imran Khan |url=https://www.globalvillagespace.com/islam-has-no-connection-with-terrorism-imran-khan/ |access-date=8 August 2019 |agency=Global Village Space |date=2 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="Siasat">{{cite web |title=Islam has no connection with terrorism: Prof. Bruce Lawrence |url=https://archive.siasat.com/news/islam-has-no-connection-terrorism-prof-bruce-lawrence-404381/ |website=Siasat Daily |access-date=8 August 2019 |date=22 February 2013}}</ref>
Former US president [[Barack Obama]] explained why he used the term "terrorism" rather than "Islamic terrorism" in a 2016 townhall meeting saying, "There is no doubt, ... terrorist organisations like [[Al-Qaeda]] or ISIL – They have perverted and distorted and tried to claim the mantle of Islam for an excuse for basically barbarism and death ... But what I have been careful about when I describe these issues is to make sure that we do not lump these murderers into the billion Muslims that exist around the world ..."<ref name="Diaz_why_CNN_29-9-16">{{cite news |last1=Diaz |first1=Daniella |title=Obama: Why I won't say 'Islamic terrorism' |url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/28/politics/obama-radical-islamic-terrorism-cnn-town-hall/index.html |access-date=11 August 2019 |publisher=CNN |date=29 September 2016}}</ref>

It has been argued that "Islamic terrorism" is a [[misnomer]] for what should be called "[[Islamist]] terrorism".<ref name="islamism">{{cite web |last1=Courty |first1=Audrey |last2=Rane |first2=Halim |title=Why the media needs to be more responsible for how it links Islam and Islamist terrorism |url=http://theconversation.com/why-the-media-needs-to-be-more-responsible-for-how-it-links-islam-and-islamist-terrorism-103170 |website=The Conversation |access-date=8 August 2019 |date=1 October 2018}}</ref>

In January 2008, the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|US Department of Homeland Security]] Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties issued a report titled "Terminology to Define the Terrorists: Recommendations from American Muslims",<ref name="DHS-terminology">{{cite web |title=Terminology to Define the Terrorists: Recommendations from American Muslims |url=https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/dhs_crcl_terminology_08-1-08_accessible.pdf |website=U.S. Department of Homeland Security |access-date=15 July 2021}}</ref> which opened with
{{Blockquote
|text=Words matter. The terminology that senior government officials use must accurately identify the nature of the challenges that face our generation. [...] At the same time, the terminology should also be strategic – it should avoid helping the terrorists by inflating the religious bases and glamorous appeal of their ideology.
}}
The office "consulted with some of the leading U.S.-based scholars and commentators on Islam to discuss the best terminology to use when describing the terrorist threat." Among the experts they consulted,
{{Blockquote
|text=[t]here was a consensus that the [US Government] should avoid unintentionally portraying terrorists, who lack moral and religious legitimacy, as brave fighters, legitimate soldiers, or spokesmen for ordinary Muslims. Therefore, the experts counseled caution in using terms such as, "jihadist," "Islamic terrorist," "Islamist," and "holy warrior" as grandiose descriptions.
}}