ISIS, ISIL, IS, 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. Its short. Its 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.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 14:49:22 +0000
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