President Obama has defended his choice not to use the word "Islamic" when referring to terrorism.
The US President has been heavily criticised for his rhetoric over global terror in particular after recent attacks in San Bernardino and Orlando. On Wednesday he was questioned by a mother whose son had died fighting in the US army.
"My son gave his life for acts of terrorism," Tina Houchins told Obama at CNN-hosted presidential question and answer session. "Do you still believe that the acts of terrorism are done for the self-proclaimed Islamic religious motive? And if you do, why do you still refuse to use the term...Islamic terrorist?"
The question has been raised of Obama repeatedly, in particular by Republican presidential candidates. Donald Trump criticised Obama in the wake of the attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando and said "we need to tell the truth about radical Islam".
Obama responded: "There is no doubt, and I've said repeatedly, where we see terrorist organisations like al Qaeda or ISIL, they have perverted and distorted and tried to claim the mantle of Islam for an excuse for basically barbarism and death.
"These are people who've killed children, killed Muslims, take sex slaves, there's no religious rationale that would justify in any way any of the things that they do."
He continued: "But what I have been careful about when I describe these issues is to make sure that we do not lump these murderers into the billion Muslims that exist around the world, including in this country, who are peaceful, who are responsible, who, in this country, are fellow troops and police officers and fire fighters and teachers and neighbours and friends.
"What I learnt from listening to some of these Muslim families both in the US and overseas is that when you start calling these organisation Islamic terrorists, the way it is received by our friends and alies around the world is, somehow Islam is terroristic.
"That then makes them feel they are under attack. In some cases it makes it harder for us to get their cooperation in fighting terrorism."
He said that as a Christian, he would not allow a militant group claiming to be Christian to hijack his religion.
"If you had an organisation that was going around killing and blowing people up and said, 'We're on the vanguard of Christianity', as a Christian, I'm not going to let them claim my religion and say, 'You're killing for Christ.' I would say, that's ridiculous.
"That's not what my religion stands for. Call these folks what they are, which is killers and terrorists."
