Softer speak' in the war on terror
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is refusing to identify the "influential Muslim Americans" and "leading US-based scholars and commentators on Islam" who met with Secretary Michael Chertoff to help shape a softer approach to government lexicon about terrorists and theirideological motivations.
"Our policy is we don't comment on the Secretary's private schedule," spokeswoman Amy Kudwa told the IPT (Investigative Project on Terrorism). Nor would she identify any of the participants' organizational affiliation.
DHS and the State Department's Counterterrorism Communications Center each issued reports urging government employees to avoid words like "jihad," "mujahedeen" or any reference to Islam or Muslims, especially in relation to al-Qaida. The IPT is making the documents available for the first time at its Website.
As we reported last week, the memos say a change in language from the US government is needed to win the hearts and minds of moderate Muslims and avoid glamorizing terrorists motivated by religious ideology. "Moderate" is also frowned upon in the memos, though, with "mainstream" or "traditional" suggested as replacements.
Among the recommendations not reported previously:
The experts we consulted debated the word "liberty," but rejected it because many around the world would discount the term as a buzzword for American hegemony.
The fact is that Islam and secular democracy are fully compatible - in fact, they can make each other stronger. Senior officials should emphasize that fact.
The USG [US government] should draw the conflict lines not between Islam and the West, but between a dangerous, cult-like network of terrorists and everyone who is in support of global security and progress.
So America, after serving for more than two centuries as the sanctuary for huddled masses yearning to breathe free, is being asked to minimize liberty against fanatics bent on a global religious state. The memo doesn't offer examples to show where Islam and secular democracy have reinforced each other, or explain how Shari'a law, the imposition of religion into state affairs, is "fully compatible" with secular democracy.
It is no surprise, however, to see the changes praised by the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC):
MPAC has long promoted a nuanced approach towards the lexicon of terrorism emanating from the United States government and media. It is essential that various elements of the government recognize the importance of decoupling Islam with terrorism. Furthermore, using Islamic language to describe terrorists falsely bolsters their religious credibility among the very people we most need - the majority of mainstream Muslims around the world.
The memorandum described by the Associated Press reportedly also draws heavily on a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report that examined the way American Muslims reacted to different phrases used by US officials to describe terrorists, and recommended ways to improve the message. Through its regular government engagement with government agencies including DHS, MPAC has repeatedly addressed the importance of refraining from ideologically based language that mischaracterizes the Muslim community domestically and abroad.
The fact that the government agencies are implementing such recommendations in their communications is a victory for constructive engagement with the Muslim American community. Implementing the recommendations, as they are described in media reports would serve as a powerful tool in isolating the terrorists.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1209627009091&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFullOld headline: War Department to tone down rhetoric.
Washington, D.C. May 5, 1942. "Japanese citizens did not attack Pearl Harbor," said a spokesman responding to complaints from numerous sources here and in Japan. U.S. forces, civilian employees, and the U.S. press are strongly urged to restrict criticism to the real attackers of Pearl Harbor, "a tiny rogue element in the, otherwise honorable, Japanese military."
The Japanese people were just as shocked as we were, President Roosevelt said recently. "The tiny rogue element does not represent the Japanese people," said FDR . . . .
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I copied the original English language version. I've refused to learn our official language (Japanese) ever since the war ended in late 1942. Ooops! gotta go..
