The terrorism category flexibly expands to include non-Muslim countries like North Korea

Evidence

Such simplifications are not limited to describing actual people but extend to framing their actions. During the War on Terror, the government and media have used the term terrorism as a catchall for the endlessly complex realm of political violence; such terminology has in turn shaped the public discourse in at least three key ways. First, it tends to conflate all violence perpetrated by Arabs and Muslims as “terrorism” regardless of historical context or political grievance; such explanations are often depoliticized, dehistoricized, and decontextualized. The term terrorism has been used to describe an array of politically motivated violent acts, from anticolonial rebellion to Arab nationalists, from Palestinians’ suicide bombings opposing Israeli occupation to the peaceful opposition of political Islamists to U.S. involvement in the Middle East. — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 833 (#expands, via linked claim)

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 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: NSEERS registration required men from twenty-five countries including North Korea — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 563; The flexible terrorist category is repurposed against domestic movements threatening empire; Terrorism and extremism are treated as exclusive to Islam (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• The flexible terrorist category is repurposed against domestic movements threatening empire #corroborates (0.85)
• The term terrorism flattened diverse political violence into one undifferentiated category #expands (0.85) — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 833
• Terrorism labeling follows political allegiance, not acts of violence #corroborates (0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 413
• Terrorism and extremism are treated as exclusive to Islam #qualifies (0.82)
• The terrorist racial category expanded decade by decade to cover new groups #corroborates (0.80)
• US enemy-combatant classification expanded from named groups to all nearby Muslims. #expands (0.78)
• Islamist groups are labeled allies or terrorists based on US interests #corroborates (0.78) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 400
• A foreign minister promised North Korea diplomatic recognition without cabinet approval #exemplifies (0.75) — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 912
• Partridge wanted to destroy North Korea’s rice supplies during war. #exemplifies (0.75) — Nicholson Baker, Baseless- My Search for Secrets in the…, 545