BRUSSELS, (UPI) -- The European Union is drawing up a lexicon of politically correct language to use when describing terrorists who claim to act in the name of Islam.

The idea was first aired in the EU's counter-terrorism strategy, which was adopted by interior ministers in December. As part of its efforts to combat radicalization and terrorist recruitment, the paper said the Union's 25 member states have to do more to "correct unfair or inaccurate perceptions of Islam and Muslims." It also called on EU officials to draft a "non-emotive lexicon for discussing the issues in order to avoid linking Islam to terrorism."

Diplomats in Brussels are currently working on the handbook, which is expected to be adopted by ministers in June.

The issue of how to discuss the link between radical Islamist groups and terrorism has shot to the top of the political agenda since the riots by immigrant offspring in French suburbs last November and the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in European newspapers earlier this year. The decision to reprint images of the prophet, which is outlawed by Islam, was denounced as a provocation by Muslim leaders and more than 50 demonstrators died in violent clashes across the Islamic world.

"There is a simplistic portrayal in the Western media of Muslims as fanatics, terrorists and extremists," says Shada Islam, Brussels correspondent for a number of Asian and Middle East papers. "There is this picture of Muslim women as all tied to the kitchen sink, wearing hijabs (veils) and totally dominated by men. Every single TV program on Islam states starts with a shot of camels in the desert and every radio show begins with the Muezzin (call to prayer.) The finer points of what Islam is about and the fact that there is an internal struggle going on within the religion are being ignored."

Arzu Donmezer, a political assistant of Turkish origin in the European Parliament and a graduate in Islamic sciences, agrees that discrimination against Muslims has intensified since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States. "When you say you are a Muslim, people take a step back and ask if you know any terrorists. For many Europeans, being a Muslim is the same as being a terrorist -- which means they are putting people like me in the same box as radical Islamists. If I'm being pushed away by the very people I want to belong to, where am I supposed to go?"

EU officials admit that there is a great deal of ignorance about Islam. "This is all part of Western society getting to know the Islamic religion a bit better," says Friso Roscam Abbing, a spokesman for European Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini. For example, the term 'jihad,' which most Europeans and Americans associate with the violent armed struggle against Western "infidels," has largely positive connotations in the Muslim world, where the term means overcoming a personal struggle.

"We want to avoid emotional wording which could hurt people or make a direct link between certain religions and terrorism," said one EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Giving the impression that one community or one religion is under the control of terrorists is no way to fight terrorism."

The guidelines, which will be non-binding and aimed at public officials rather than journalists, are likely to advise against using the term "Islamic terrorism." Roscam Abbing said his EU commissioner, who is the rough equivalent of the U.S. homeland security chief, prefers to talk about "those who have an abusive interpretation of Islam," rather than Islamists or Muslim fundamentalists. "The idea is not to use the terms Islam and Muslim in connection to something negative," added the spokesman.

The initiative was welcomed by Islam, the Brussels-based journalist, who notes that people never refer to the IRA or ETA as Christian terrorist groups. "Words are not just empty shells; they carry cultural weight. For example, when EU ministers use the same vocabulary to talk about immigrants, asylum seekers and terrorists, they create the impression that if you're an immigrant or asylum seeker then obviously you are a terrorist. So I think a certain amount of political correctness is necessary when talking about such explosive and sensitive issues. If anything can help defuse the current tensions, why not?"

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