User talk:159.251.152.41

Renaming IS/ISIS/ISIL
Hi. I know that most Westerners like me have known the Salafi jihadist group mentioned in this subject line as IS, ISIS, or ISIL. In fact, these terms actually give power to the group when they are used to refer to them. By naming them an "Islamic State" of any sort, we are giving them sound bytes that secure the idea in the minds of others that they are a legitimate political faction. I propose that we use the more pejorative Arabic slang, "Daesh" instead of "Islamic State" or "IS" or "ISIS" or "ISIL". I site the following from an article in the online edition of the Independent:

Daesh

The French government changed its official name for the terror group, saying others “blur the lines between Islam, Muslims and Islamists”.

The Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius asked journalists and media organisations to follow their example, adding: “This is a terrorist group and 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’.”

Daesh, sometime spelled DAIISH or Da'esh, is short for Dawlat al-Islamiyah f'al-Iraq wa al-Sham.

Many Arabic-speaking media organisations refer to the group as such and there is an argument it is appropriately pejorative, deriving from a mixture of rough translations from the individual Arabic words, notably the Arabic verb دعس, within the name, which means to tread underfoot or crush.

Personally, I think that Minister Fabius is correct to state that this group is not to be legitimized by being referred to as a state; they are not a political entity, but a terrorist group with political ambitions. I hope that you will join me in referring to them in the "appropriately pejorative" Daesh/Da'esh/DAIISH. Thank you.