President Obama refuses to legitimize groups like ISIL

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This is why he doesn't call it radical Islam. He doesn't want to give these fringe groups any legitimacy whatsoever. Personalities like Sean Hannity always knock Obama for failing to call these group Islamic radicals or associating them with Islam. Why would Sean Hannity want to see these groups gain legitimacy?

Good for him. It ought to be remembered that his critics on this issue conveniently have amnesia, as their boy George W had pretty much said the same thing. People who want to frame this conflict with ISIS as a war against Islam are motivated by their own preexisting religious and racial prejudice.

I think it's prefectly fine to call them radical Islamists, because that is what they are. I don't think there are many Christian or atheist ISIS members, we should just call it what it is. President al Sisi of Egypt made the distinction between the religion of Islam, and the radical political groups.
I don't see how calling them radical Islamists legitimizes them. Maybe call it a false Caliphate or something, with emphasis on false?

...Yeah , I suppose Obama's caution could be seen as " not wanting to create a situation where a fence-ish Muslim in the Middle East somewhere could think ' Obama says Islam is bad ' " .

I think people see the difference, when ISIS beheaded those Christians on the beach mostly Muslim Egypt retaliated immediately. And it is in a way a war between ISIS and the Christian West: ISIS is at war with just about everyone, Christians included. Most of the victims of ISIS are Muslims, and many of the people fighting them too (Kurds, Jordanians, Egyptians etc).
And I don't consider myself really part of the Christian West personally, since I live in a mostly post-Christian region. But then, atheists are probably even worse in the eyes of ISIS.

Can we call them Wahhabists? I'm given to understand they prefer a different term for their ultra-conservative Islam, and that that one further enrages them.

Why not just call them psychos?