Is it possible to write a long news analysis article about the term "Radical Islam" and not mention the Muslim Brotherhood? In the New York Times, Max Fisher comes very close to achieving that feat, before finally invoking the Brotherhood obliquely towards the end.
And since he doesn't spell out the relationship between the term "Radical Islam" and the Muslim Brotherhood, he misses one big reason that people (including this blogger!) don't like using the term to describe any terrorism motivated by extreme interpretations of Islam.
There are Islamic political movements which are "radical" in their desire for a return to fundamentals (Salafist) or in their belief that observant Muslims can reform the modern state from the bottom up (the Muslim Brotherhood) -- but they are not of themselves terrorists.
And since he doesn't spell out the relationship between the term "Radical Islam" and the Muslim Brotherhood, he misses one big reason that people (including this blogger!) don't like using the term to describe any terrorism motivated by extreme interpretations of Islam.
There are Islamic political movements which are "radical" in their desire for a return to fundamentals (Salafist) or in their belief that observant Muslims can reform the modern state from the bottom up (the Muslim Brotherhood) -- but they are not of themselves terrorists.
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