Disclaimer. The below is a posting by Dody G (dodyg.org).
I put it here because I agree with every single word.
nomenclature
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I think we should drop the usage of 'moderate Muslims'. We don't use the word 'moderate Christians' or 'moderate Hindus' in common usage to describe believers of other religion in contrasting the mainstream with their extremist factions.
A community of believer is like family. In every family, you have one or two crazy uncles/aunt that totally out of whacked and different from the rest of your family and embarras you in the family Christmas dinner. You call them crazy uncle Joe's or maniac Jane but you dont' call the rest of your family as "moderate Smith".
Use simply the word Muslim for the majority, with their virtues and faults, and probably 'wackos' to describe the little crazy fuckers segment of their community.