DAR AL HARB - E.U.: EUROPE'S NEW LEXICON

Don't Link Terrorism and Islam, EU Tells Gov't Spokesmen
by Eva Cahen

Paris, France (CNSNews.com) - The European Union has created a special lexicon for use by government spokesmen to avoid associating Islam with terrorism in their statements to the press.

"Jihad," "Islamist" and "fundamentalist" are words that are discouraged, ostensibly to avoid offending or alienating Muslims by linking them to terrorism.

E.U. and British officials have confirmed the existence of the directive with the special lexicon, although its contents remain classified.

Gerard Batten, a U.K. Independence Party member of the European Parliament, has asked the E.U.'s executive commission to explain the lexicon. According to an E.U. document quoted in his question, the lexicon seeks to "correct unfair or inaccurate perceptions of Islam and Muslims" and develop a "non-emotive lexicon for discussing the issues in order to avoid linking them to terrorism."

In Batten's view, this kind of lexicon actually makes things worse."What it's doing is actually compounding the problem because it's refusing to accept there is a problem with certain Islamic teachings," he told Cybercast News Service in an interview.

Batten said it was important to identify the religious teachings of extremist Islam so moderate Muslims can then confront and reject them, thus isolating the extremists.

"It's very difficult for moderates to take the lead against extremists when politicians and governments aren't taking the lead," he said.

"If we're going to pussyfoot around and use euphemisms when in fact we should be talking about the real problem, it doesn't help."

Batten cited British media coverage of the Iraq war -- particularly BBC coverage -- as an example of media not facing the real issue of who is doing most of the killing but seeking to place the blame on America and Britain instead.

"Whatever we think about the Iraq war, whether it was right or wrong is irrelevant. It's not the Americans or British killing these enormous numbers of people now, it's Muslims doing it to other Muslims," he said."And you won't see any blame from Muslims in this country, or anywhere else in Europe, blaming Muslims for doing it. It's the British's fault; it's the Americans' fault."

A spokesperson for Primo Europe, a French organization that is seeking more balanced media coverage of the Middle East, said the E.U.'s guidelines are likely a result of European Middle East policy that seeks to protect its close ties with Arab countries.

...




Pertinent Links:

1) Don't Link Terrorism and Islam, EU Tells Gov't Spokesmen