The Bush administration hasn't so far been in the running for a Dr Johnson Services to Language award (Bush: "They misunderestimated me," November 2000), but is making a belated pitch for one.
Have you noticed that Condoleezza Rice hasn't used the word jihadist so often since September?
Documents obtained by the Associated Press news agency show officials in federal agencies have been asked not to use the terms jihadist and mujahideen, describe al-Qaida as a movement or refer to Islamo-fascism.
You probably know already that jihad can mean holy war, but it also means the constant internal struggle to do good. Nearly seven years after 9/11, the US administration has worked this out. Accordingly, it cautions that mujahideen (meaning those engaged in jihad) must be seen in its broader context.
Apart from these cultural sensitivities, it deploys the glamorising argument. Freedom-hating terrorists just love the jihadi tag, so don't indulge them.
The guidance builds on a homeland security 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.
Bad words defined by US officials as "too grandiose":
jihadist
Islamic terrorist
Islamist
holy warrior
Is the US administration being too sensitive? Or was it about time officials cleaned up their war-on-terror vocab?
