President Obama, the United Nations and some news organizations refer to the jihadist group by the acronym ISIL, which stands for Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.◼ link
CNN Global Affairs Correspondent Elise Labott said the U.S. has stuck with ISIL because the group appears to have to set it sights beyond Iraq and Syria. And also because Washington doesn't want to recognize their plans for a caliphate....
ISIS is an English translation of the acronym in Arabic for Al-Dawla Al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham, or the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham.
The organization has said its goal is to form an Islamic state, or caliphate, over the entire region, stretching from Turkey through Syria to Egypt and including the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Lebanon.
Some think ISIS flows better as a word in English. It also happens to be the name of one of a goddess of ancient Egypt.
CNN has been referring to the organization as ISIS, shorthand for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
◼ Obama's Use Of ISIL, Not ISIS, Tells Another Story - FOX
With the exception of Reuters and now the Associated Press, most news organizations have not referred to ISIL until President Obama began using the term, which stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. But when Obama used the term 5 times on June13, and 16 times in his commencement speech at West Point on June 19th, he was using his bully pulpit to make a point.◼ ISIS vs ISIL – Which One Is It? - inquisitr.com
Most, like this publication, continue to use the widely accepted acronym ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or al-Sham, but both describe the same murderous organization. The difference is that the Levant describes a territory far greater than simply Iraq and Syria. It’s defined as this: The Levant today consists of the island of Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and part of southern Turkey.
