Is it a crime or terrorism?

This may not seem like an important distinction, but using the wrong term to describe the horrific events occurring around the globe is desensitizing us, and even normalizing them. According to the U.S Code, the basis for many legal definitions, the definition of a crime..or criminal violence is:

Crimes are acts or omissions that are in violation of our laws.  Murder, rape, arson, larceny, burglary and robbery are just some of the categories with the degrees set according to the severity.  

Also, now part of the criminal system are “hate crimes”, which are defined as the following:

The intent of hate must be proven, and every crime is not a hate crime, which organizations like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) attempt to portray.

The word terrorism has 2 sections, international and domestic. Domestic terrorism is defined in the U.S Code as the following:

In order to use these terms accurately, the motives of the individuals performing the acts must be determined. 

When we look at the heinous, abominable events occurring not only in the United States, but around the world, many are committed in the name if Islam. Muslims have declared war against the West, promising the return of the Islamic Caliphate.  The vast majority of events occurring after 9/11 were committed for that reason. Yes, there have been terrorist attacks perpetrated by non Muslims, such as the bombing of the Murrow Federal building, and they have been designated as such. 

More recent attacks of enormous magnitude that were terrorism, were Fort Hood, Chattanooga military recruiting center, San Bernadino, Pulse nightclub, Garland Texas, and Ohio State University, all done in the name if Islam. 

In Europe, Muslims have committed acts of terrorism on a regular basis, including last weeks killings by a vehicle driven into a crowd and the suspects stabbing patrons of restaurants  Today, in London a man drove his van into a crowd of Muslims exiting a mosque,killing one and injury several more. The attacker was arrested and has been described as a 48 year old white man, who allegedly stated all Muslims should die. Muslims from the mosque are demanding it be labeled terrorism, while some even preferring it be called anti-Muslim.   It isn’t terrorism, it’s a hate crime. 

Words do matter, and they also have consequences. The more law enforcement, the media and our government misuse terms, the more confused and complacent Americans become. Acts of terrorism are occurring on a regular basis, as the Islamic world becomes emboldened and empowered.  The return of the caliphate is a duty of every good Muslim. A good Muslim is any Muslim that practices and imitates the life of their prophet Muhammad.  

It’s time we learn correct terminology and call out those who misuse them, especially because of political correctness. If we fail to understand the difference, we fail to know the enemy.