TERRORISM
SIMON BARBER: Crying wolf and tripping over the ‘t’-word in Las Vegas
Steven Paddock has all the characteristics of a rampage killer driven by internal demons — but he’s not a terrorist
Why is Steven Paddock referred to as a "shooter" and a "lone wolf" and not a "terrorist"? former Primedia news chief Yusuf Abramjee tweeted on Tuesday, referring to the Las Vegas butcher. He attached a definition of terrorism proposed by Rice University sociologist Craig Considine: "A propaganda term used to manufacture anti-Muslim sentiment … deployed only when Muslims commit violence." Simultaneously making the rounds on Facebook was this, attributed to one Yasir Qadhi: "Do you know what white privilege is? It is to murder over 50 people and injure 450 only to have authorities claim, within minutes and without any verification, that you are not a terrorist." Like Considine, I am in complete sympathy with Muslims who find themselves automatically under suspicion in the US and elsewhere because a tiny minority of co-religionists has taken to slaughtering innocents. Nor do I doubt Donald Trump exploits Islamophobia and worsens it in playing to his base. What I do wonder, though, is w...
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