Call it what it is — radical Islam

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The police, the FBI and the public did excellent work when tracking down and apprehending the suspect in bombings in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan and on the Jersey Shore. 

The manhunt went on for a day. People called in tips, investigators matched surveillance videos and photos, police issued a cell-phone alert for the suspect, Ahmad Khan Rahami, and investigators matched a fingerprint lifted from a second, unexploded bomb in Chelsea against his arrest records. 

One of the tips reportedly came in from two men who found a backpack near the train station in Elizabeth, N.J. and decided to take it. After they opened the bag and saw wires inside, the men called police, according to media reports. 

The bomb in Chelsea went off on Saturday night. On Monday morning, Mr. Rahami was arrested in Linden, N.J., where he was sleeping in the doorway of a bar. 

While the efforts of investigators and civilians, and the results those efforts achieved, were excellent, politicians did what politicians do. 

Donald Trump on Monday called for profiling potential bombers: “Look, Israel does it. And Israel does it very successfully.” He then stressed that he “never said the term Muslim” - but simply accepted it when it was put forward by “Fox and Friends” host Bill O’Reilly. 

Hillary Clinton responded by accusing Mr. Trump of “giving aid and comfort to our adversaries.” The adversaries, according to Ms. Clinton’s speech, are “terrorists” and “ISIS.” She did not mention radical Islam — a term that Mr. Trump uses frequently, but one that makes Democratic politicians wince. 

ISIS — or, in Arabic, “Daesh” — is an acronym for a name that includes the words Islamic State. The terror group calls itself Islamic, yet Democratic politicians cringe away from calling radical Islam by its name. 

In Mr. Trump’s eyes, every Muslim may be a potential bomber. Ms. Clinton goes to the opposite extreme and seems to believe, if her public speeches are any indication of her views, that the notions of Islamic terrorism and radical Islam do not exist. 

Many Americans across the political spectrum are tired of loaded rhetoric pouring in from both sides of the political spectrum. Acknowledging the existence of radical Islam, while avoiding equating it with all Muslims, would be a good step toward finding a sane middle ground, instead of divisive rhetoric.