“Islamic Terrorism”?

Last week at the Republican Convention, Rudy Guliani commented that, “For four days in Denver, the Democrats were afraid to use the term “Islamic terrorism.” I imagine they believe it is politically incorrect to say it. I think they believe they will insult someone. Please tell me, who they are insulting if they say, “Islamic terrorism.” They are insulting terrorists!”  

I am not interested in entering into the partisan politics of this debate, but I do want to address the question of terminology and ask whether that is the most prescriptive debate for us to have as we think about the struggle against violent extremism.

To begin with, let’s take a moment and actually look at the term “Islamic terrorism”.  Some people will say we should call it “Islamist terrorism”, others will suggest we say “violent Islamist extremism”, and there are those who say we should call it “violent extremism” and not equate it with any particular religion.  While this is not an insignificant debate, it is incredibly boring and unhelpful to the average American who is trying to understand how and why individuals strap bombs to their bodies and blow themselves up in the name of religion.  It doesn’t help shed light on why 22 year olds with masters degrees flew planes into buildings on 9/11 and it hardly explains why a group of kids from Tetouan, Morocco traveled to Spain to attack the train lines.  

We call the individuals who undertook these attacks “Islamic terrorists”, or at least some variation of that.  But, we have a different picture of who these individuals were once we remove the masks of religion and ideology that are cultivated by violent extremists.  We know that they weren’t always terrorists and that their lives were ridden with humiliation, alienation, and desperation.  Groups like Al-Qaeda offered them a sense of empowerment, an outlet for adventure, belonging, status and opportunity, and the chance to be a hero.  They provided these “at risk” youth with an escape from their downtrodden lives.  But, is this really a phenomenon exclusive to Muslim communities, or is it something we see in youth communities around the world?

Extremist Islamism is one form of radicalization that is of particular concern, but it is by no means the only example of radicalization we see around the world.  For instance, in the United States, youth are radicalized through the gangs like the Bloods and Crips; in Latin America, young people get recruited by gangs like Mara Salvatrucha and non-Muslim terrorist groups like Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC); in Sri Lanka, the process takes place through the Tamil Tigers; and in Eastern Europe at risk young people are at times recruited into right-wing groups like the neo-Nazi movement. 

So, let’s stop focusing on how we call the problem and instead pay attention to what it actually is: the process by which illicit actors hijack impressionable young people and exploit them for criminal purposes.  This is a youth issue!