In another thread, I posted a link to this article from HaAretz (registration required):The Islamic State Is Upset With The French Government's New Name For Them
ISIS, IS, the Islamic State, ISIL -- the international community can't seem to decide what to call the Islamic extremists who have been terrorizing the Middle East, and now the French government has announced it will use yet another name for them, which is reportedly upsetting the group.
The French foreign ministry released a statement earlier this week referencing the Islamic State group as "Daesh." The new moniker is a transliteration of an acronym of the group's Arabic name "al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham". It is also similar to the Arabic word that means "to trample."
France's foreign minister Laurent Fabius explained that he views the organization as "a terrorist group, not a state."
“I do not recommend using the term Islamic State because it blurs the lines between Islam, Muslims and Islamists. The Arabs call it ‘Daesh,’ and I will be calling them the ‘Daesh cutthroats,'" Fabius said, according to France 24.
The Associated Press reported that the extremist group finds the term disrespectful.
Many media organizations have adopted the term "Islamic State," including The Huffington Post. But Secretary of State John Kerry aligns with the French on this issue.
At a hearing on Thursday, Kerry brought a new term to the table: the "enemy of Islam."
"I call them the 'enemy of Islam' because that's what I think they are, and they certainly don't represent a state even though they try to claim to," Kerry said.
It doesn't end there. A group of Muslims in the UK has called on the government to call the group the "UnIslamic State."
What’s in a name? A guide to the subtle but serious implications of choosing ISIS, ISIL, Islamic State or Da’ash
How can world leaders agree on how to fight a band of bloodthirsty extremists if we don’t know what to call them?
In his address to the nation, announcing the U.S. military escalation against the organization, President Barack Obama again referred to the group as "ISIL" and again, it sounded strange - because the rest of the world refers to the group using a different name. Several different names, in fact. It seems as though almost from the moment we all first became aware of the group that wants an Islamic state to engulf the Middle East, we’ve been puzzling out what its name should be. Here’s a look at what the organization has been called so far – and why.
1. Al-Dawla Al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham
STANDS FOR: “The Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria” in Arabic.
The full name of the group in Arabic.
This wasn’t always its name. Though versions of the group existed earlier, it was founded under this name in 2004, the Arabic name ended with the word ‘Iraq’. The new name was born in 2012, after the group entered into the fray in Syria. Non-Arabic speakers rarely refer to the group by its full name – as it is clearly is too much of a mouthful, even for those familiar with Arabic. Clearly the name had to be shortened, but the way in which it is abbreviated both reflects and shapes the way it is being approached.
2. ISIS
STANDS FOR: An abbreviated version of the Arabic name translated as “The Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria.”
Currently the most commonly used term for the group in the English-speaking world and media, unless you are President Obama or a U.S. government official.
It’s rather strange that somewhere along the line, it was determined that the group’s name should be both Anglicized and abbreviated. After all, nobody refers to TPOG for “The Party of God” - they call the Lebanese organization by its Arabic name, “Hezbollah.” And no one ever refers to Hamas as “IRM,” standing for the “Islamic Resistance Movement.”
But ISIS is the name that has stuck, despite the terrible unfairness to the legacy of an ancient Egyptian goddess, and much to the dismay of numerous spas, nail salons, and even a lingerie line named after her. And women named Isis are clearly not amused.
3. ISIL
STANDS FOR: An abbreviated version of the Arabic name translated as “The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant."
An alternative translation and abbreviation to ISIS, the official name of the organization used by the U.S. government.
The U.S. government clearly officially rejects using the term “ISIS.” In all of their public pronouncements, President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have use the term “ISIL” though numerous members of Congress, and the media prefer “ISIS.”
‘Levant’ is a creaky and colonial term for the Eastern Mediterranean, which the Oxford Encyclopedia tells us includes “Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and part of southern Turkey.”
The Obama administration’s swim-against-the-tide choice of “ISIL” over “ISIS” has drawn media attention as a clear – and often-confusing - bid to avoid uttering the word “Syria.”
As Chuck Todd, the moderator of “Meet the Press” said recently “Obviously, we refer to it at NBC News as ISIS. The Obama administration, the president says the word ISIL. The last ‘S’ stands for Syria. The last ‘L’ they don’t want to have stand for Syria.”
Why? Some believe the intent is to send a message that while the U.S. is ready to do battle in Iraq, it doesn’t want to get involved in the complicated mess in Syria. The less generous hint at darker reasons with a wink, like Fox News’ Harris Faulkner who suggested that Obama’s use of ISIL was “tipping his hat” to the group because “Levant is a bigger territory. That’s why they want to embrace that name and it includes many, many more countries than just Syria.”
Faulkner merely insinuated, but less discreet and mainstream far-right wing websites have taken the charge much further - smack into “Obama is a Muslim born in Indonesia with a secret agenda” crackpot territory.
In the extreme right corners of the Internet, the President has been accused of sending a “coded” or “hidden” message to the world by using the term ISIL. They ask rhetorically – guess which country is smack in the middle of the ‘Levant’? Israel!
For the unsubtle, the outlets - most of whom are linked to Christian evangelism but include at least one Jewish site - feature a map of the “Levant” with a big fat red line scrawled around Israel.
Others on the right offer a less conspiratorial and more political explanation for the use of “ISIL” over “ISIS.” Obama, they say, doesn’t want to utter the names of Iraq and Syria -- “the two countries that many believe define Obama’s continued failure in the Middle East.”
4. IS
STANDS FOR: An abbreviated version of “Islamic State.”
What the organization now calls itself in Arabic, reflecting wider ambitions beyond Iraq and Syria.
Used by some in the media who are trying to avoid the ISIS/ISIL conundrum – but very infrequently.
It's short. It's easy. But the fact that it is identical to such a common verb - is - makes it a Google nightmare and really problematic in headlines (my personal theory as to why the media has resisted using it). The headline “IS is making significant progress” looks like a typo.
5. Islamic State
STANDS FOR: The most accurate unabbreviated translation of what the group calls itself.
Increasingly used by the media to refer to the group – many have stopped saying “ISIS” and switched to “Islamic State.”
It’s clear that the simplest way to solve the “name the organization” problem is to write out the words Islamic State. It’s what the group calls itself, and expresses their nature and the extent of their threat.
It’s a logical solution, but psychologically very difficult. It’s the same reason Israelis will only refer to the “Palestinian Authority” and get their back up when people refer to ‘Palestine.’ Saying the name of an entity makes it sound legitimate and real. When we use the words “Islamic State” it feels as if saying the words make it a reality - that we aren’t referring to a fringe group in a desperate struggle to make a caliphate real, but an actual existing Islamic State.
6. Da’ash/Da’ish/Da’esh
STANDS FOR: An abbreviated version of the group’s previous name in Arabic - Al-Dawla Al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham.
A commonly-used name for the organization in Israel and across the Middle East, usually referred to as a derogatory moniker.
In Israel, there is no other name for the Islamic State – only Da'ash, and the abbreviation is popular in other parts of the Middle East as well. But don’t make the mistake of using it in the territory where the group is in control. They consider it an insult. If as an article in Slate reports, calling the group Da’ash on its own turf is “a crime which is reportedly punishable by flogging,” it’s clear that they, more than anyone, take their name very seriously.
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