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Government renames Islamic terrorism as 'anti-Islamic activity' to woo Muslims
Last updated at 00:52am on 20.01.08Ministers have adopted a new language for declarations on Islamic terrorism.
In future, fanatics will be referred to as pursuing "anti-Islamic activity".
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said that extremists were behaving contrary to their faith, rather than acting in the name of Islam.
Security officials believe that directly linking terrorism to Islam is inflammatory, and risks alienating mainstream Muslim opinion.
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The alleged terror attack on Glasgow Airport last summer: The Government is renaming Islamic terrorism as 'anti Islamic activities'
In her first major speech on radicalisation, Miss Smith repeatedly used the phrase "anti-Islamic".
In one passage she said: "As so many Muslims in the UK and across the world have pointed out, there is nothing Islamic about the wish to terrorise, nothing Islamic about plotting murder, pain and grief.
"Indeed, if anything, these actions are anti-Islamic'.
Another section referred to enlisting the Muslim community against "anti-Islamic activity".
Her words were chosen to reflect new Government strategy on labelling the terrorists and their recruiting agents.
The shift follows a decision taken last year to stop using the phrase "war on terror", first adopted by U.S. President Bush.
Officials were concerned it could act as a recruiting tool for Al Qaeda, which is determined to manufacture a battle between the values of Islam and the West.
The strategy emerging across Government is to portray terrorists as nothing more than cold-blooded murderers who are not fighting for any religious cause.
Al Qaeda inspired terrorism is instead being described by key figures as "more like a death cult".
Last night the Home Office stressed that no phrases have been "banned".
But senior Whitehall sources have made it clear that the "war on terror" and "Islamic extremism" will not be used again by people at the top of Government or those involved in counterterrorism strategy.
Jacqui Smith: New language
Sir Ken Macdonald, the Director of Public Prosecutions, has also said phrases which liken London to a " battlefield" will no longer be used.
But the move led to accusations of "hand-wringing".
Conservative MP Philip Davies said no Muslim constituent had ever complained to him about the use of the term "Islamic extremism".
The Shipley MP added: "Whenever anyone refers to Islamic terrorism, they are not saying all Muslims are terrorists.
"Everybody knows what people mean is terrorists doing it in the name of Islam, misguidedly.
"If the Government spent less time worrying about this, and more time worrying about things such as having effective border controls, we would be getting somewhere."
In her speech, Miss Smith said extremists who use the internet to radicalise young children would be pursued in the same way as paedophiles.
She will meet members of the online industry in the next few weeks to decide how to crack down on Al Qaedainspired sites.
Illegal material will be tracked down and removed using tactics already deployed against online paedophiles. Those guilty of grooming youngsters for terrorism could face prosecution under incitement laws.
Miss Smith said: "If we are ready and willing to take action to stop the grooming of vulnerable young people on social networking sites, then I believe we should also take action against those who groom vulnerable people for the purposes of violent extremism."
Her plans also include a new unit to sift through intelligence gathered by police and security agents.
The unit will be told to "identify, analyse and assess not just the inner circle of extremist groups, but those at risk of falling under their influence".
Young people found to be falling under the spell of potential terrorists will be targeted for help by community leaders and the authorities.
Outdoor activity centres and sports facilities will be sent guidance to stop them being used as meeting places by fanatics after the July 7 bombers were photographed attending a white water rafting centre in Wales.
Mosques will be helped to root out extremism, with imams encouraged to learn English. Efforts will be made to improve the access of women to mosques and their management committees.
There will be new advice for universities on how to deal with extremism on campus, and a crackdown on extremist material in libraries and galleries.
A forum of headteachers will be set up to advise on what more can be done to protect children and build bridges between communities.
Youngsters will be taught about all faiths in schools, and £2million will be spent "twinning" schools of different faiths.
Funding will be boosted to allow more youngsters to carry out volunteer work overseas.
The Government also wants to hold more "roadshows" of mainstream Islamic scholarship around the country.
Miss Smith said: "Counter-terrorist policing is not just about the sharp end - the disruption of those who seek to attack us - crucial though that is.
"It must also be about stopping people becoming or supporting terrorists. We can't, after all, simply arrest our way out of this problem."
Reader views (21)
This Govt. is managing to achieve unbelievable levels of incompetence in dealing with a very serious issue. I recall another government telling the world another lie and spinning it as the truth...
- R Barker, London, UK, 18/01/2008 16:54
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They are not pursuing anti-islamic activities - they are carrying out acts of terrorism and murder. Stop giving these murderers names. They are ugly, ugly animals.
- Minime, South East England, 18/01/2008 16:27
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Another pronouncement from the ministry of truth.
With all of the possible interpretations each person makes of their religion it is a cop out for the religious to abrogate responsibility. It's not good enough to say if someone does something bad in the name of your religion they are not true believers. It seems to me every religious believer has a slightly different faith and different way of interpreting it. I'm sick of the government bending over backwards to point out the good religion does and ignore the harm.
- David, London, 18/01/2008 15:51
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The argument is that any true Muslim would not commit or condone acts of terrorism. Obviously the terrorists and their sympathisers disagree, but they and their opinions don't count. If a few words can do anything to defuse wider distrusts, it's a good idea, and I can't see any way it can hurt.
- Nigel, London, 18/01/2008 15:27
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That's right, waste all your time and all our money on stupidness like this instead of dealing with real issues! Wasn't she meant to be given the sack?
- Moo, South London, UK, 18/01/2008 15:00
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No, these people do commit crimes in the name of Islam, therefore there are indeed Islamic terrorists. More ridiculous thought control propaganda from a government obsessed with politicial correctness. They should be concentrating on the growing problem of extremism in the UK instead of sitting around and thinking this useless stuff up.
- Brandon Thomas, London UK, 18/01/2008 14:43
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Now that's a good idea. We'll change their name and they will go away. Why is there so much concern over what we call things. Let's just call a spade a spade and say it like it is.
- Dave Robinson, PA. USA, 18/01/2008 14:42
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Let Labour have their little moments of stupidity. It just reminds us of what they stand for. They have not got much time left before they get the big boot into oblivion.
- P.Robinson, Northants, 18/01/2008 14:30
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I'm not a Muslim - therefore it's difficult for me to know what is Islamic or not. Jacqui Smith is not a Muslim either - therefore, who on earth is she to say what is Islamic or not?
Is she going to tell other religious groups what they ought to believe as well?
- Paul, London, 18/01/2008 14:27
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Perhaps the government should refrain from engaging in conflicts such as Iraq which were premised on allegations of a tyrant who harboured WMD's and then look to it's citizens to prevent radicalisation.
- Maast Dixon, Great Portland St, London, 18/01/2008 14:17
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Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said that extremists were behaving contrary to their faith, rather than acting in the name of Islam. But the terrorists wrongly believed that they were acting in the name of Islam, that is what they see the message of Islam being.
Stuart of Luton, the IRA thing was entirely different. The thing they wanted was to control what they saw as their own country and they did not do it in the name of the church, and it just happened that most people in Ireland were Catholic.
Let's rename the government as the "we don't like the indigenous population group". I suppose we could rename loads of organisations with ridiculous hippy luvvy duvvy names and sentiments.
- Peter Sparkling, London, 18/01/2008 14:10
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New Labour - newspeak - doubleplusgood - living the dream.
- Joe Mullen, London, 18/01/2008 14:02
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So now the Home Secretary is a self-appointed final arbiter of what kind of behaviour constitutes 'Islamic' or not. I wasn't aware she had any theological training for the role.
If a yobbo who happens to be a Muslim mugs someone, is that 'anti-Islamic mugging'? What utter nonsense. George Orwell would've had a field day with the student politicians running this country.
- Freddie, London, UK, 18/01/2008 14:00
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Okay then "Casperslides" anyone who commits a murder and is a Christian will be a called a Christian murderer...or Christian terrorist? If that's the rules you want then fine...we will soon see how the faiths are!
- Daveb, London, 18/01/2008 13:19
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Here come the PC brigade yet again and being led from the front by another Labour lady.
- Fly, London, 18/01/2008 13:05
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The Government also wants to hold more "roadshows" of mainstream Islamic scholarship around the country. Simply thrilling. What an attraction. And how much is this little lot going to cost us?
- Squiz, Islington, 18/01/2008 12:55
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If they are Muslim and they are terrorists then then they are Muslim Terrorists, that is how the language works. Our "government" such as it is will just have to learn to live with that.
- Casperslides, Bath, UK, 18/01/2008 12:55
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Apparently George Orwell is alive and well, working in the Home Office.
- R M, London, UK, 18/01/2008 12:31
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I am going to go against the grain here and say I agree that we should use the new term.
No one would say that an IRA bomb was of any use to the Catholic religion? So why the same for Islam?
I think it is time we realised exactly what these people are doing and labelling them correctly. If the Muslim community support catching these people and feel that they are independent of them we will defeat them.
Shallow minded and veiled racism is pointless and just pulling the PC card is no use either.
This is a new type of problem and we need to look at it differently.
- Stuart, Luton, UK, 18/01/2008 12:27
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Call a spade a spade and stop wasting money on trying to brainwash the public with government spin.
- Sarah, London, 18/01/2008 10:46
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So someone who commits terrorist acts in the name of Islam will not be described as Islamic; on the contrary, he or she will be described as anti-Islamic.
This is a dishonest use of language.
'No True Scotsman’ is a well known and accepted logical fallacy by which an individual attempts to avoid being associated with an unpleasant act by asserting that no true member of the group they belong to would do such a thing.
The term was coined by Antony Flew, who gave an example of a Scotsman who sees a newspaper article about a series of sex crimes taking place in Brighton, and responds that no Scotsman would do such a thing. When later confronted with evidence of another Scotsman doing even worse acts, his response is that no true Scotsman would do such a thing, thus disavowing membership in the group "Scotsman" to the criminal on the basis that the commission of the crime is evidence for not being a Scotsman. However, this is a fallacy as there is nothing in the definition of "Scotsman" which makes such acts impossible.
- Peter Jones, London, 18/01/2008 10:31
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