Prime Minister David Cameron has renewed calls to call ISIS ‘DAESH’ – “Muslims in Britain will hold there heads in despair,” he said.
Added: ”Muslim families around the country would have held their heads in despair this morning when once again you just called it Islamic State, you didn’t even say “so-called Islamic State”.
DAESH is a shortened version of Dawlat al-Islamiyah f’al-Iraq wa al-Sham” – or in Arabic script; الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام, translating into Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (Levant is a region is Syria).
DAESH is used in most Arab nations, including Saudia Arabia and Bahrain – and in France for sometime: ISIS has threatened to cut off the tongue of anyone who uses DAESH instead of ISIS, as it is perceived as insulting an belittling of them, and, therefore, does not favour it.
The phrase is perceived as offensive because it sounds similar to the Arabic phrase Daes – ‘one who crushes something underfoot’; and Dahes, ‘one who sows discord’.
There is no real right or wrong way to pronounce it, but Dess’ is the most commonly used pronouciation.