For the record. For whatever the record is worth.
I agree with

t_boy here.

I don't know if that matters, or anyone cares, but I'm curious whether most people don't. Agree with him, I mean. And as another Fandom Wank Muslim (we should have a list! and our own tired old in-joke!), I wonder if somehow neither of us got the memo that Islamist is the same as Muslim. Hell, I used to get pissed off when people said Islamist because that's not the correct term, until I picked up on the implied distinction. (And it totally makes sense! Muslim are followers of Islam, Islamists use Islam. One's about God and one's about politics.)

So there. If he's wrong, we're both wrong.

EDIT: Okay, so I finished actually reading the thread (I, um, thought it ended with the

ealusaid exchange? and didn't notice all the other comments?) and I'm not quite sure what I'm agreeing with him about anymore. I thought the disagreement was over whether Islamist is a slur against all Muslims? And I don't think it is. THERE, I'VE SAID IT.

it's hard being me. shut up.

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ashenmote
2008-05-31 10:24 pm UTC (link)

For all that I know, 'islamist' is a relatively new, artificial term to cover various groups from the fanatic, militant, political subset of Islam. And while it has the disadvantage of being imprecise, it has the advantage of being the badly needed term that allows to make a distinction between those groups and the moderate majority in Islam, so...yeah, in my understanding someone who uses the term takes pain to avoid slurs against all Muslims.

The only problem is, I know that is the use of the term in Germany and I know I can expect every halfway-educated German to understand what it does and doesn't mean, but I would be cautious as hell if I were to use it on the Internet. Because I have no idea if it is established the same way in other countries.

And when I look at the reactions in the linked thread? I really start thinking it isn't.

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	panthea 2008-06-01 04:58 am UTC (link)
	Part of it also is that, by this point, I've gotten very, very good at avoiding things that I know are going to piss me off. So I haven't often come across "Islamist" used as a slur, because I tend to avoid people or situations where it would be used as such. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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