Countering Islamic Extremism

Last month, US President Barack Obama hosted a three-day summit on “Countering Violent Extremism." But, because it is obvious to everyone that most of the violent extremism is being carried out in the name of Islam, avoidance of the word raises more problems than it solves.

PRINCETON – Last month, US President Barack Obama hosted a three-day summit on “Countering Violent Extremism." That term has already spawned a new abbreviation, “CVE," used no fewer than 12 times in a Fact Sheet released by the Obama administration on February 18.

The Fact Sheet also uses the term “violent extremism" 21 times. How many times do terms like “Islam," “Islamic," or “Muslim" appear? Zero. There is not even a reference to the “Islamic State." That entity is referred to only by the initials “ISIL."

This is not an accident; it is part of a strategy to win the support of mainstream Muslims. Riham Osman, speaking on behalf of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, which participated in the summit, said that using terms like “radical Islam" harms the cause of stopping the violence. This may partly reflect the Muslim community's understandable fears that associating Islam with terrorism and violence would contribute to an increase in attacks on, or discrimination against, all Muslims.

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