The Role of Islam in ‘Radical Islam’: An Evaluation of Phenomenon and Terminology Accuracy

Abstract Mentions of “radical Islam” can be heard weekly, if not daily, on various media platforms. The “umbrella” term “radical Islam” is often used to describe extremist interpretations of Islam that involve violence and terrorism, therefore the term by itself encompasses several concepts, which lack clear definitions not only in academia, but also international legal system. The research question is: “What concepts constitute “Radical Islam” and whether their terminology corresponds to Islamic teachings”. Aim of this paper is to compare proposed terminologies of different authors, to propose a more unified terminological framework while analyzing the term “radical Islam” itself. Methods included but were not limited to literature analysis, document analysis, context and content analysis. The obtained results include terminology comparative analysis, and a new terminology framework proposed by the authors which contributes to the originality of the research.