I love the latest stack of news items documenting the various names for the group that has been calling itself the Islamic State. See, for example, …
http://www.theweek.co.uk/isis/62422/islamic-state-daesh-or-isis-the-dilemma-of-naming-the-militants
Apparently the most recent name, as advanced by David Cameron, is Daesh, which is a loose acronym for al-Dawla al-Islamiya al-Iraq al-Sham (Arabic for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) but sounds like the Arabic words Daes (“one who crushes something underfoot”) and Dahes (“one who sows discord”). I think I like it. What about you? (Click Comment after the web version of this item to give your opinion.)
Da’esh is not a new name, it is the original name used by this group. It is what Arabs have always used when speaking Arabic. The middle letter is an ‘ain, so you squeeze your throat when you say it. ISIS, ISIL IS, etc., are all western names and many Arabs looks lost when I use these acronyms.
Hi Roland. This article is just one of many examples of the new concerted momentum that we were trying to highlight, brother. Sorry if we weren’t clear.
https://www.freewordcentre.com/blog/2015/02/daesh-isis-media-alice-guthrie/