The Obama administration’s recent move to drop references to Islamic radicalism is drawing fire from counterterrorism experts who warn the decision ignores the role religion can play in motivating terrorists. In the report, due to be released this week, counterterrorism experts from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy argue that the threat from radical Islamic extremists has to be defined in order to fight it, and that it can be done “without denigrating the Islamic religion in any way.” Obama administration officials have said that linking Islam to the terror threat feeds the enemy’s propaganda and may alienate moderate Muslims in the United States.
