So what if ISIL is a 'Muslim' terror group? Obama's still right not to use the word

Are ISIL and al Qaida and terrorist groups like them "Muslim?" In the simplest terms, of course they are, although it is more accurate to call them Islamist, to differentiate them from mainstream Islam. They are groups made up of Muslims who claim Islam as their inspiration and cite Islamic teachings as justification for their actions. ISIL and al Qaida are Muslim in the same way that, for example, Scott Roeder, Eric Robert Rudolph, and others who have killed or targeted abortion providers based on their understanding of Christian teachings are Christian—or more accurately—Christianist terrorists. The same goes for terrorists who act in the name of any religion.

More importantly, just as the overwhelming majority of Christians reject the violence committed in the name of their faith, so too do the overwhelming majority of Muslims reject the violence committed by groups like ISIL. Muslim religious leaders and preachers in the U.S. have already been working hard to counter extremist religious messages designed to tempt young people to join ISIL.

Norwegian Muslims who have vowed to create a "ring of peace" around a synagogue in Oslo this Saturday also show a very different side of Islam from that of ISIL. One young activist declared, "We can’t let extremists spread their message on behalf of all the rest of us." Another who helped plan the event added, "If the jihadists want to use violence in the name of Islam, they must go through us Muslims first." Just as Roeder and Rudolph are Christianist terrorists even though they do not represent Christianity, ISIL and al Qaida are Islamist terrorists who do not represent Islam.

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