The Reason ISIL Shortened Its Name
The Reason ISIL Shortened Its Name
March 12, 2015
This is an excerpt of an op-ed by Prof. Danny Rubinstein, of BGU’s Department of Communication Studies, who lectures about Arab-related issues.
i24News — The Nigerian Islamist terror group Boko Haram recently announced it had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State movement.
Until now, terrorist offshoots of Islamic State were known in various areas of the Middle East, always in Arab states. Now, for the first time, we are witnessing an offshoot in a non-Arab state. The core of the movement within the borders of Iraq and Syria operates branches in Lebanon, and Libya – and has now spread even farther afield – to the heart of Africa.
This first indication of this trend came last June, when the organization announced it was shortening its name. No more “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant” (which also includes Lebanon, Jordan, and the land of Israel), but only “Islamic State” or ” Islamic State caliphate.”
Revolutionaries tend to change the names of countries and organizations, generally due to ideological or political circumstances.
In the case of ISIL, the name ISIL restricted its scope of activity, whereas the organization’s leader, Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi now wants to be caliph of all Muslims, all over the world.
Read more of the article by Danny Rubinstein on the i24News website >>
Stories Like This
