Column: Radical Religious Terrorism

“These are radical Islamic terrorists, and she won’t even mention the word, and nor will President Obama. He won’t use the term radical Islamic terrorism. Now, to solve a problem, you have to be able to state what the problem is or at least say the name.”

So said Donald Trump back in his second presidential debate with Hillary Clinton. Leaving aside the fact that Clinton had publicly used the terms radical jihadism and radical Islamism four months earlier, is the larger point valid? To solve a problem, do we have to be able to state what the problem is?

The Struggle over Cultural Perception in the Wake of Violence

A Turkish media outlet, The Anadolu Agency, reported yesterday that ancient artifacts, stolen from the Mosul Museum, were turning up in European markets and being sold in order to help fund the terrorist activity. Which terrorist organization? Depends who you ask. Daesh. Or to some, ISIL  or the IS.

In the crosshairs of persecution: the Yezidis

Among the many atrocities committed by members of the Islamic State of Syria and Levant (ISIL) is the group’s attack on the Yezidis, a tribe in northern Iraq known mostly for its secretive religion and repeated persecutions by neighbors. The reports on the Yezidis hiding on mountainsides to escape conversion or death was a factor in President Obama’s decision to use airstrikes against ISIL. The average westerner knows little about the Yezidi people and their religion, and media channels have struggled to learn more. The Yezidis are typically described as polytheists and have been branded as devil-worshipers many times over the centuries that their culture has endured. However, neither label is a good fit.

ISIL or ISIS? Pagans Join Debate Over Islamic Militia’s Name

In recent months, a controversy has been brewing around the name and the acronym for the militant Islamic group Al-Dawla Al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham (DAASH). The most common English translations of that name are The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. More commonly, the militant group is referred to in the media as ISIS. Both the translations and the common acronym have caused significant frustration for many, including Pagans. A  New York Times article, dated June 18, explained the problem from a linguistic perspective.