Jews Down Under An online magazine for Australian Jews
Self declared
Five Minutes for Israel will try to to avoid using the descriptive name ‘Islamic State’ in favour of ‘DAESH’ or ‘self-declared Islamic State’. We suggest you do the same.
There are several reasons to do this.
While there is no doubt the bloodthirsty entity is Islamic it is hardly the only Islamic state. Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen have also adopted Islam as the ideological foundation of state and constitution. They can claim the title Islamic state no less than the butchers in Iraq.
In addition, by what definition is it a state? That may be irrelevant as the same question should be asked about Palestine. States can recognise Narnia and Neverland as states if they desire.
In Israel we get around this by calling the entity DAESH which is an acronym of the Arabic al-Dawla al-Islamiya fil Iraq wa’al Sham. Apparently France is also considering this solution.
This is especially pertinent as DAESH claim to be the caliphate i.e. the divinely authorised Muslim world under a single Islamic state. There is no reason for the media or politicians to tacitly accept that claim by accepting the name.
Similarly if we have to employ an abbreviation for Islamic State we use ISIS rather than IS. This is for mostly practical reasons. Doing a word search for two letters that serve as the 3rd person–present tense of the verb ‘to be’ and also one of the most common vowel–consonant combinations is a nightmare.
Hopefully, expanded recognition of DAESH rather than Islamic State (in Syria, Levant or wherever) will gradually see ISIS, ISIS and IS fade from Western usage.
Some say calling them DAESH irritates the self-declared Islamic State because it reduces the grandness and splendour of the posturing name they have given to themselves. Another plus.
The Kurds fight DAESH
This video contains images that some will find distressing.
Five Minutes for Israel can’t vouch for the authenticity of this video but we feel it import enough to share. The constant stream of self photographed beheadings and atrocities from DAESH has allowed them to dominate regular and social media. It is vital that in this as in Iraq they don’t get it all their own way.
About the 5-in-a-star
The ISIS T shirt is an actual product marketed by an Indonesian retailer. However appropriate reproducing it without the model’s head was their idea not ours.
Cross posted from Five Minutes for Israel
By whatever name it is called, one thing beyond doubt is that it is barbaric beyond words.
David, when you say that the term DAESH should be used as it is hardly the only Islamic state, giving examples of Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, do you believe that they are only a degree less barbaric than DAESH?
After all, every one of these countries deny human rights to non-Muslims and carry out brutal punishments. For example, a Christian woman in Pakistan was beaten, raped and now faces the death sentence for drinking out of a Muslim’s cup. Surely the difference between these states and DAESH are actually quite small.
The Koran must be declared a book of terrorism. Surah: We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Their habitation is the Fire 3:151
I disagree with the thrust of this article. While I have used the term DAESH when reffering to that organisation I am inclined to the view that Pam has put, that there is remarkably little that seperates this organisation from states that would call themselves islamic States. I would also add that in a sense it does let other Islamic States “of the hook” for failing to keep this Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in check.
By using the term DAESH it says “Hey this has nothing to do with Islam !!”……when of course it has everything to do with Islam…..This is like saying the Inquisition had nothing to do with Christianity because we refer to Inquisitors and not Christion priests acting as Inquisitors.
This is a terrible idea. IS people are operating from strict Islamic principles and they should be directly associated with this reprehensible religion. Because Islamic states and sects are constantly engaging in internecine warfare does not mean they do not adhere (submit) to basic Islamic tenets.
Disagreements over piety or purity does not make one group moderate and another “extremist.” Pakistan, with a population over 180, 000,000, follows sharia law. Blasphemy gets the death penalty. Women must obey their husbands, Christians are second class citizens, etc. As for IS being a state, this is the name these followers want and it is indicative of their ultimate agenda. Everyone should be aware of that at all times. This business of inkwashing Islam will, at some point, have disastrous consequences. Read the Qur’an. Read the Hadith. Read the Sira. Islam is a militaristic, triumphalist ideology, bent on conquest, conversion, submission and death. We’d better not forget it or overlook it.
Looks like we are all against the idea of using DAESH to replace ISIS.
In the past couple of days it appears that both David Cameron and François Hollande are in favour of using the acronym. As far as I am concerned this is utter stupidity. This is the aim of Islam. I was reading an Australian Facebook page at the weekend where they were discussing Da’wah and there is no doubt in my mind at all that they aim to make the entire world Muslim, as they have tried in the past.