The British government seems to have embarked on a new strategy on labelling terrorists and their recruiting agents as security officials believe that directly linking terrorism to Islam is inflammatory, and risks alienating mainstream Muslim opinion.

Though the British Home Office stressed that no phrases have been banned, sources made it clear that the "war on terror" and "Islamic extremism" will not be used by top officials.

British ministers have already adopted a new language for declarations on Islamic terrorism. In her first major speech on radicalisation, home secretary Jacqui Smith repeatedly used the phrase "anti-Islamic" in a carefully crafted strategy, sources said.

In future, fanatics will be referred to as pursuing "anti-Islamic activity".

Security officials believe that directly linking terrorism to Islam is inflammatory, and risks alienating mainstream Muslim opinion. The shift follows a decision taken last year to stop using the phrase "war on terror", first adopted by US President George Bush [Images], Daily Mail newspaper reported.

The strategy is to portray terrorists as nothing more than cold-blooded murderers who are not fighting for any religious cause. The government also wants to hold more "roadshows" of mainstream Islamic scholarship around the country.

Smith said counter-terrorist policing is not just about the sharp end.

"It must also be about stopping people becoming or supporting terrorists. We can't, after all, simply arrest our way out of this problem," she was quoted as saying by the daily.