Condoleezza Rice Forbids The Use of the Word JIHAD

I was doing some blog reading when I saw this little ditty on Jihad Watch which gives us more proof that the end of the world must be right around the corner. According to their sources Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has forbidden the use of the term Jihad or Jihadist by any State Department employee. No word on what they have to use instead, I suspect it would have to be something like "nastiness that has nothing to do with the fact that the practitioners are Muslim." Read the report below:

New State Department lexicon forbids use of the words "jihad" or "jihadist"

A reliable source has informed me that Condoleeza Rice has approved a new lexicon for State Department usage, absolutely forbidding the use of the terms "jihad" and "jihadist" by any State Department official.

The argument, of course, is the old Streusand/Guirard claim that by using the word jihad, we're validating the jihadist claim to be waging jihad. Of course, it's ridiculous to think that the U.S. State Department carries any validating authority within the Islamic world to determine what is Islam and what isn't. This would be the first time that unbelievers have set the meaning of Islamic theology for Muslims.

Also, the claim is that by using the word "jihad," we are insulting the peaceful Muslims who are waging the daily jihad of the struggle against sin, the struggle against the dirty dishes, etc. And that's great, if that's what any Muslim actually believes is the sum and substance of jihad, but it is an understanding of jihad that is at odds with the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence. Will Muslims be insulted by a reference to other Muslims using the traditional primary meaning of jihad? Answer: probably. But that doesn't negate the traditional status of that meaning, or the influence of that traditional view in the Islamic world.

I will publish more information on this when possible.