I am really going to try to understand this:
A new counter-terrorism phrasebook has been drawn up within Whitehall to advise civil servants on how to talk to Muslim communities about the nature of the terror threat without implying they are specifically to blame.
Reflecting the [UK] government’s decision to abandon the “aggressive rhetoric” of the so-called war on terror, the guide tells civil servants not to use terms such as Islamist extremism or jihadi-fundamentalist but instead to refer to violent extremism and criminal murderers or thugs to avoid any implication that there is an explicit link between Islam and terrorism…
“This is not about political correctness, but effectiveness – evidence shows that people stop listening if they think you are attacking them.” — The Guardian (UK)
The idea seems to be that Muslims will be offended if radical Islamic terrorism is in any way identified as related to Islam, and will be less likely to cooperate with the authorities.
Well, which Muslims are we talking about?
The ones who are already committed to violent jihad against the West will probably be pleased. They will be able to continue recruiting and pretending that their interpretation of Islam is normative and reasonable.
What about moderate Muslims? The strategy of ignoring the source of terrorism undermines their struggle to marginalize the jihadists in the Muslim community. Those like Dr. Zuhdi Jasser here in the US, who believe that “tolerance in Islam [is] a fundamental principle of the Holy Koran” and who “refuse to acknowledge the justification of any form of terrorism”, have been betrayed by the official abdication of responsibility to tell the truth.
By not identifying Islamic terrorism as related to radical Islam, the effect is exactly the opposite of what is intended: since there is no admission that radical Islam exists, moderates are the ones who are insulted. The average citizen, who knows well that the subway bombing was not perpetrated by football hooligans, will not learn that all Muslims are not terrorists. And the UK government, in turn, looks stupid, dishonest, or both.
This policy is not good for anyone except the jihadists.