The limits of the ‘Islamic’ label

NEW YORK: President Obama stands accused of political correctness for his unwillingness to accuse groups like the Islamic State of “Islamic extremism,” choosing a more generic term, “violent extremism.” His critics say you cannot fight an enemy that you will not name. Even his supporters feel that his approach is too “professorial.”

But far from being a scholar concerned with describing the phenomenon accurately, the president is deliberately choosing not to emphasize the Islamic State’s religious dimension for political and strategic reasons. After all, what would the practical consequence be of describing the group, also known as ISIS, as Islamic? Would the West drop more bombs on it? Send in more soldiers to fight it? No, but it would make many Muslims feel that their religion had been unfairly maligned. And it would dishearten Muslim leaders who have continually denounced ISIS as a group that does not represent Islam.