December 07, 2015•Update: January 05, 2016
LONDON
In Britain, Gillingham and Rainham MP Rehman Chishti launched a campaign to call terrorist organization ISIL as Daesh and British government seemed to refer it as Daesh.
"Many countries around the World, including Turkey, Australia and the Arab League have already adopted the phrase “Daesh” instead of using Islamic State, ISIL or ISIS," Chishti told Anadolu Agency on Saturday.
The conservative MP said his campaign has received the support of 170 members of parliament from across the political spectrum.
"Last year the French Government officially adopted the title ‘Daesh’ and urged media outlets to use this name instead. The word ‘Daesh’, which is an Arabic name for the group, holds negative connotations, referring to “one who sows discord”," he added.
Chishti said the government will be joining key international allies like Turkey in using the term Daesh to defeat "this evil organization’s propaganda, appeal and self-proclaimed legitimacy". "This barbaric terrorist group is not Islamic nor is it a state and Daesh is a better term for it," he said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Dec. 2: "I feel that it is time to join our key ally, France, the Arab League, and other members of the international community in using, as frequently as possible, the terminology “Daesh” rather than ISIL. This evil death cult is neither a true representation of Islam nor a state."
On June, Cameron asked the BBC not to use of the term "Islamic State" when referring to Daesh.
The BBC said last week: "While people can debate terminology, we are sure the British public are under absolutely no illusion about the type of organization this is. The BBC uses the name the group itself uses, using additional descriptions to help make it clear we are referring to the group as they refer to themselves, such as 'so called Islamic State' or 'Islamic State group'."
Chishti said he hoped that media organizations will follow the government’s lead and also adopt the term.
Meanwhile, Haras Rafiq, managing director at the counter-extremism Quilliam think tank said there is no difference between the terminologies.
"What they [Daesh] are actually doing is, they are actually in a way sending out messages through propoganda. Whatever we call it, they have been successful through that propoganda around in persuading some Muslims, some non Muslims.
Whatever we call them, it does not really matter," said Rafiq.
He also said it is too late to using different terminologies.
