A prime example of the uselessness of the term “terrorism.” First, it is a method, and not an ideology, and thus lends itself to broad applications without describing the reason for the supposed “terrorism.” And allegations of terrorism are quite easy to come by — one will recall the charges of “religious terrorism” and “moral rape” leveled against Christians accused of proselytizing in Morocco.
Accusations of terrorism in contexts like this are ultimately instruments of moral equivalence, with the aim of painting non-Muslim parties as the aggressors using an emotionally charged term with a conveniently elastic application. Never mind Iran’s own track record in the region, of course.
“Iran tells Muslims to fight ‘savage’ US, British terrorism,” from Agence France-Presse, July 21 (thanks to Twostellas):
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Wednesday called on Muslims to fight the “blind and savage terrorism” fueled by U.S. and Britain, whom he blamed for deadly bombings of an Iranian mosque.
“In our region … the blind and savage terrorism is borne out of the evil policies of the United States, Britain and their state and non-state mercenaries,” Khamenei said in a statement marking the seventh day of mourning for victims of the bombings of a Shiite mosque in southeastern Iran.
“All Muslims are required to combat and confront this evil and sinister offspring which is the epitome of corruption on earth and of waging war against God,” the all-powerful Khamenei said in the statement read out on state television…
“Corruption on earth and of waging war against God” is a quotation of Qur’an 5:33 (the lesser-known and very nasty followup to apologists’ favorite go-to verse in 5:32): “The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom.”