Radical Extremism, or, Those Dastardly Political Islamists
2nd January 2026
wave of euphemism is sweeping the country.
What is being euphemized is Islam. Whenever adherents of the Religion of Peace do something really, really bad in the name of their faith, their actions are not generally ascribed to Islam. Prominent public figures invariably refer to one of several obfuscations to modify the word “Islam”: “Radical Islam”, “Islamism”, or “Political Islam”. Sometimes mention of Islam is even completely elided by citing “Radical Extremism” or something similar.
Extreme what? Radical what? No one knows — the noun modified by the adjective remains unmentioned. “Allahu Akhbar” is usually our only clue.
All Islam is radical—if you’re not a Muslim. All Islam is estremist—if you’re not a Muslim.