‘Islamic terrorism’ banned from EU lexicon

EU officials will urge governments to avoid the phrase "Islamic terrorism" in favour of "terrorists who abusively invoke Islam.”

Officials are currently drafting a "non-emotive lexicon for discussing radicalisation" that will be submitted to EU leaders at a summit in June.

“Certainly ‘Islamic terrorism’ is something we will not use … we talk about ‘terrorists who abusively invoke Islam’,” said an official speaking off the record.

The new lexicon will not be legally binding but it is hoped it will be adopted by member states and all of the EU institutions.

"The basic idea behind it is to avoid the use of improper words that would cause frustration among Muslims and increase the risk of radicalisation," the official added.

Other terms being considered by the review include “Islamist”, “fundamentalist” and “jihad”.

Jihad is often used to mean warfare against infidels, but for most Muslims it indicates a spiritual struggle.

“Jihad means something for you and me, it means something else for a Muslim. Jihad is a perfectly positive concept of trying to fight evil within yourself,” the official said.

The lexical initiative follows the row over Danish cartoons that depicted the prophet Muhammad.

The cartoons led to outbreaks of anger and violence throughout the Muslim world.

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