Bear in mind that the political Left has a problem calling anything an act of terror. It took ISIS beheading foreign journalists before that the Left acknowledged the group as a terrorist organization much less one posing a threat to the United States.
They did not view Nidal Malik Hasan as a terrorist either when he went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas. Now, they deny the incident involving Islamic proselyting Alton Alexander Nolen savagely beheading a former co-worker in Oklahoma had anything to do with terrorism. At the same time, Governor Rick Perry says the incident was in fact an act of terrorism.
The Left claims that the assessment by the governor is a sign his lack of intelligence. In their view, an act of terrorism must involve a co-conspirator as on 9/11 or the Boston Bombing, or the person must formally acknowledge they are a terrorist.
It appears that the Left does not consider the possibility that what occurred in Oklahoma was an act of terror because they do not readily see a political motivation behind the killing. The Left claims that Nolen was merely inspired by the acts of ISIS and Al-Qaida.
The problem is that the facts are not completely understood. Nolen has not made any statement saying that he got his inspiration to behead an innocent victim from merely watching reports about ISIS. While it may be premature of Governor Perry to label the incident as an act of terror, it is true that terrorists have killed innocent people in the name of Islam. No one doubts that is what Nolen did.