He is saying that we have to pretend, and that the Obama Administration pretends, that they’re not Islamic at all — in other words, that the Administration is determined to ignore what they state as their guiding ideology, motives and goals. This is a recipe for disaster, as one cannot defeat an enemy one refuses to understand.
Also, the idea that Muslims are looking to non-Muslim authorities for “religious legitimacy” is absurd. The Qur’an calls non-Muslims the “most vile of created beings” (98:6). Non-Muslims can’t legitimize anything for believing Muslims.
“CIA Director says Islamic State represents ”ideology of violence, ” not Islam,” ANI, March 23, 2015 (thanks to Lookmann):
Washington: CIA Director John O. Brennan has cautioned against categorizing the Islamic State (IS) fighters as followers of Muslim faith by saying that they represent an “ideology of violence” and not religion.
In an interview, Brennan stuck to the Obama administration`s official line and stressed on the need to not use phrases like “radical Islam” for the IS terrorists, The Washington Times reported.
Brennan warned that it would be a mistake to link the IS with Islam, when majority of Muslims around the globe have denounced, condemned their actions and therefore, he added, “we should not give them any religious legitimacy.”The CIA Chief added that he was prepared to call them “extremists” and “violent terrorists” who misrepresent Islamic faith.