"Extremist Islamic Terrorists"
An oxymoron.
"Islamic" is the generic term for all things Muslim. Used properly it applies to practicing Muslims regardless of country, sect, race, or sex.
The murderer, torturer, kidnapper, rapist psychopaths at ISIS/Da'ish would give their eye teeth to be Islamic. ISIS is not a part of the Koran/Quran based mainstream Islam. (Read the Quran/Koran. Overwhelmingly its stories are the same stories, same people as the Old Testament for Christians. Simplify religious rituals, add Arab tribal traditions -- you've got Islam. Same diety, too.)
Except for Republicans and Israel's Likudniks, ISIS is are not Islamic.
Among Muslims the term "Islamist," on the other hand, has a much more restricted usage. Properly, "Islamist" as a political adjective should be applied to Fundamentalists of the Sunni sect and specifically to Salafis. Salafism is the Saudi state religion. It is best known here in America for having educated Osama bin Laden and for printing hundreds of millions of books and "graphic novel" pamphlets for schools/madrassas, many of them depicting religious violence.
Saudi Islamists/Salafis also spawned Muslim Brotherhood movements in Egypt, Syria and other MENA countries. These operations have produced repeated civil wars. The "rebellion" in Syria began and has continued as an Islamist project, financed for years directly out of Saudi. Recruitment for these projects is run out of the Saudi-financed madrassas.
Shi'ia and Sufi Muslims never apply "Islamist" to themselves in English language publications. Mainstream Sunnis apply the term in the context of religious studies.
In practice, Da'ish is best understood as a Cult of Mohammad. They reflect the core of modern Salafi dogma. They borrow over Islamist slogans. They have adopted the Saudi Islamist version of Sharia Law, which has been crafted as an imagined return to a Sunni Golden Age in the time of the first seven Caliphs. Sunni Haddiths (stories) have been retranslated with new words added to every page.
When Da'ish/ISIS names itself Islamic State, this is a claim that they have universal hegemony/domination across all Muslims. ISIS also claims that their leader, the Caliph, has religious authority over all Muslims.
At this point 99.44% of the world's Muslims disagree. Strongly.
Then we get to America. Our nation's leading Republicans agree with ISIS wholeheartedly. Rudy Giuliani, Rep. Peter King and others assert that ISIS is indeed part of mainstream Islam. They go out of their ways to state that the ISIS branch of Salafism is representative of Abraham-and-his-descendants based Islam.
They proffer this assertion with no evidence whatsoever. ISIS calls itself "Islamic State," so it must be true. That is what Peter King said on Saturday.
Even for Republicans -- the Party of Pathetic Bungling -- this is quite a change. Their last president, George W. Bush, speaking as president, observed the distinction between "Islamic" and "Islamist" in his speeches. He aimed dozens of statements over the years to make the point that al-Qaeda was not Islamic. That the al-Qaeda doctrine misrepresents Islam.
President Obama has continued this attention to detail. It wouldn't do to have presidential addresses hand over propaganda victories to al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Who wants a Bush or Obama quote to turn up in ISIS recruiting materials ???
Republicans and Israel's Likudniks, on the other hand, insist that ISIS and it's wannabes are "extremist Islamic terrorists."
Islamic. Not "Islamist." They go out of their ways to deny that the ISIS pack are Cult Crazies.
Da'ish wants nothing more than to be accepted as Islamic. Fact is, they are a fringe group dependent on attracting wack-jobs. They attract the bottom 1% psychopaths who really, really want to kill somebody. They also get Borderline Disorder young men who confuse dreams with reality.
One of the biggest blocks of Da'ish volunteers are young men who come to Syria to commit suicide.
Yet here in America we have big time Republicans insisting that ISIS is mainstream.
The same kind of thing is happening in Israel. Same misuse of terms.
Aid and Comfort to the Enemy
So, why would the Republican Party and Likud want to help ISIS ??? Why would they try to give ISIS legitimacy? What could they have to gain?
Well, this is politics. Let's keep it simple: Follow The Money.
ISIS and it's cousins Muslim Brotherhood and al-Nusrah are good for Perpetual War.
And there's always a buck to be made with war. They know all about the limits of capitalism. They know that really big money can be had pushing weapons.
War has its fans.
World War II pulled America out of the final phase of the Great Hoover and Mellon Depression. Threats/paranoia from the Blue Steel 10-foot-tall Soviet Communism paid Military Industrial Complex mortgages for 40 years.
For the MIC, gotta love that old Iron Curtain !! Gotta love ISIS !
War was also good for conservative politics. "The Democrats lost China !!" still reverberates. Richard Nixon made a career on that one. People still tell pollsters that Republicans are better on foreign affairs and the military.
The only problem for the Perpetual War business is that change happens. The Nazis got clipped and Communism posted a "tilt" 25+ years ago. Communism was very, very good to them.
Getting ISIS as a new boogey man is a dream come true. The stuff of a Global War on Terror. A replacement for Osama. A windfall/godsend/lucky lottery ticket for the MIC.
When your backers have Big Money riding on the MIC stocks held by Carlyle Financial, you dearly love ISIS. So yes, there is a solid reason that we hear Republicans echo ISIS/Da'ish propaganda. That is $$$$$$$$$$.
So don't expect them to stop their attacks on Islam any time soon. It's mainstream Muslims who are getting murdered by ISIS, but they won't mention that.
Every time you hear their phrase "extremist Islamic Terrorists" keep in mind that they are doing what they can to keep ISIS/Da'ish in business.
Note: AP just changed its definitions for "Islamic" and "Islamist." Agreed with Republican/Likud/Da'ish propaganda. Got it nothing but wrong.
What else? You expect the MIC and their buddies to go down easy?
Note: there's also an alternative meaning for "Islamist." That one refers to western experts on the Middle East. Preferably you should be an Oxford Don prior to putting "Islamist" on your business cards.