New Report Suggests We Change Our Terrorism Discourse

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The US Department of Homeland Security has released a new report that suggests we should stop defining the fight against global terror as “us versus them.” This, DHS believes, could help prevent young disenfranchised Americans from joining the likes of ISIS.

DHS suggests we “reject religiously-charged terminology and problematic positioning by using plain meaning American English.” That would means ceasing using words like “jihad,” which means holy war, and “sharia law,” and replacing them with appropriate expressions in English.

DHS also suggests government and media organisations stop using the terms “Muslim Americans” and “the Muslim world,” instead opting for “American Muslim” and “Muslim communities.”

The overarching aim of the DHS is to halt the radicalisation of young Americans and to prevent them joining with groups like ISIS and other terrorist organisations. To this end, the Department is asking for $100m to be used to fund the effort, which will including paying experts to create social media campaigns to help young Americans stay clear of terrorist recruiters.

“The department’s CVE efforts are an attempt to protect our nation’s young people from extremists who prey upon the Millennial generation,” the report reads. “The department must reframe the conversation to reflect this reality and design a robust program around the protection of our youth, which must include predator awareness and an understanding of radicalization. In doing so, our citizens will be better equipped for this threat.”

The report was released shortly before the tragic terrorist attack on the gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Omar Mateen reportedly told dispatchers during a 911 call that he was carrying out the attack on behalf of ISIS.