Canada drops the name ISIS as it is not state or Islamic

The Canadian government will no longer call the Islamic State (IS) militant group with its name but will opt to use the Arabic acronym Daesh, which is also considered to be a derogatory term, the state-owned The Canadian Press reported on Tuesday.

Daesh stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the militant group’s former name before launching its more supposed grandiose name the IS.

The change in name by Canada came into effect in a report on terrorism released last month by the Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, who said ISIL is neither Islamic nor a state and that the report would instead use Daesh.

Global Affairs Canada and the Department of National Defense also say they are both adopting Daesh to refer to the militant group.

Canada’s decision follows what other Western governments have also opted for. Both France and the United Kingdom are among those that have adopted Daesh in recent years.

In late 2014, the former French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said : “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. Arabs call it ‘Daesh’ and I will be calling them the ‘Daesh cutthroats’.”