A former senior US administration official has said that there’s a growing consensus that we need to move away from (terms such as) jihad or mujahedin. The advising against using such language publicly, includes the recommendation to avoid referring to al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups as Islamic or Muslim. Instead, officials are urged to used terms like violent extremists, totalitarian, and death cult to denote al-Qaeda and other groups. The change comes as the administration seeks to avoid framing and labeling such activity as Muslim or Islamic, and avoid insensitive associations. “You have a large percentage of the world’s population that subscribes to this religion,” noted the former official. “Unintentionally alienating them is not a judicious move.”
