Moderate Islam

Moderate Muslim is a label used within counterterrorism discourse as the complement of "Islamic extremism", implying that the support of Islamic terrorism is the characteristic of a "radical" faction within Islam, and that there is a "moderate" faction of Muslims who denounce terrorism.

Lorenzo G. Vidino describes the term as "inherently controversial", and scholars have argued that Muslim populations predictably find the "moderate Muslim" label offensive. Cherney and Murphy argue that the categorisations of moderate/extremist are not neutral, and that their widespread deployment "deprives Muslims of the agency to define the parameters of the debate around counterterrorism and also the terms of reference through which they are labelled as either for or against terrorism." Although some Muslims do employ the use of such language, it is seen by others as further stigmatising Muslim communities and Islam.

Some consider the "moderate Muslim" label offensive, as they believe that it implies ordinary Islam is not inherently peaceful. Others believe that it implies that "moderate Muslims" are not "fully Muslim", or that the term equivalates "progressive" or "secular" with "moderate". Others, such as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, reject the term as a Western notion stating that there is only one Islam.

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