Terrorism labeling follows political allegiance, not acts of violence

Evidence

The word terrorism is put in quotation marks throughout this text not to deny the existence of groups like al-Qaeda or ISIS or to downplay the devastating attacks they have carried out, but rather to call attention to the kinds of acts of political violence that are seen as terrorism and those that are not. Although terrorism is often defined as violence targeted against civilians to inflict fear so as to advance political agendas, governments often label as terrorist those non-state actors that attempt to thwart their objectives while ignoring the political violence of allies. Further, state violence and state-sponsored violence against civilians is rarely, if ever, categorized as terrorism irrespective of the number of lives lost. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 413

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the book’s sustained scare-quoting of terrorism as a methodological choice indexing a political definitional contest.
• XREF: connects to: The terrorist-label discourse justifies US support for Egyptian dictatorship — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 42; The terrorist label flexibly expands to smear domestic dissenters and protesters — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 91; State violence against civilians is never categorized as terrorism — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 401 (+12 more)

Broader Connections

• State violence against civilians is rarely labeled terrorism #exemplifies (0.88)
• Terrorism is framed as irrational fanaticism rather than political response #exemplifies (0.80)
• Political labels can be claimed by opposing factions simultaneously #expands (0.78)
• Terrorism explanations via Muslim fundamentalism erase the political roots of militancy #exemplifies (0.78) — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 896
• Terrorism studies situate the cause of violence in the terrorist psyche, not politics #expands (0.75)
• The terrorism label is a trans-ideological tool for suppressing dissent, not Muslim-specific #corroborates (0.72) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 643
• Terrorism is a political act, not a religious one #expands (0.72) — Hamid Dabashi, Brown Skin, White Masks, 616
• Labels like fundamentalist, Islamist and radical reduce Islam to political-military confrontation #exemplifies (0.72) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 215