It’s Not Too Late to Change ISIS to ISIL
More than a month ago, news broke that a new terrorist organization had been created in the Middle East; a powerful group that would make Al-Qaeda look ridiculous. We’d expect this new group to have a chilling name to it, but the international media have called it ISIS, which stands for the “Islamic State in Iran and Syria”.
Say what? ISIS. But that’s a girl’s name! ISIS sounds like something nice, perhaps a flower or a woman. I’m nearly certain that the group’s constituents wouldn’t call themselves something so cute.
ISIS is not a name for a terrorist organization. Luckily, there’s still time to rebrand it.
In fact, a debate over the right way to refer to this terrorist group is already ongoing. The group’s goal is to establish a vast caliphate (Islamic State) in Iraq and Syria and then in other Muslim countries in the Middle East. Presently most media use the term ISIS, but the group is also called IS (Islamic State) and ISIL standing for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Though ISIS is the most popular name in the U.S. media now, ISIL is the most accurate. ISIL is not terrible nor very frightening but it’s way less charming than ISIS. Besides, ISIL is the term that officials use, including President Barack Obama who is on occasion quoted incorrectly as saying ISIS.
In the middle of the debate are people and companies suffering from the mistitling. Companies named ISIS have rebranded. According to Reuters, ISIS Mag—a London-based hair and beauty magazine for women of African descent—had to change its name and its logo.
Unfortunately, Floridian individuals like Isis Martinez can’t rebrand. Other individuals named ISIS are afraid to pronounce this “awful” name they once cherished. Some little girls are even being bullied.
As a terrorist group, ISIS is practically new. It’s not too late to rebrand it. One of the ways to do so is using the name that the terrorists use to call themselves or the exact translation of it.
In 2001 for example, the media hadn’t found a name for Al-Qaida and ended up using the name they went by. We should do the same for the Islamic State.
In this regard, the French government has got it right. They named the terrorist group “Daesh,” which simply stands for “Al-Dawla Al-Islamiyya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham.” That’s the exact same phrase as “Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham [aka the Levant]”. Therefore Daesh is the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The media could use the term Daesh or ISIL instead; that would be more honest, and it would be a relief to many lovely women and girls named after the ancient Egyptian goddess.
