Already known as Islamic State, ISIS, and ISIL, it appears the terrorist network based in Iraq and Syria is experiencing an identity crisis. As Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott recently pointed out, there is at least one more term  by which the extremist organization has been identified.
Abbott explained that Daesh, or the acronym DAIISH, can accurately be used to describe ISIS, though he noted the organization itself bitterly despises the moniker. It is for that reason, he said, that he will continue to refer to the organization by that name.
“Daesh hates being referred to by this term,” he said during recent remarks, “and what they don’t like has an instinctive appeal to me.”
The name is a reference to the proper title ‘al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi Iraq wa al-Sham,’ though the resulting acronym and its homophone are obviously unpopular among the group’s rank.
Some suggest the group is averse to the term because of its roots, citing reports that ‘Daesh’ was first used by those who backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Others point to the fact that the term sounds like the Arabic word for ‘crush’ as a possible reason its members are opposed to its use.In any case, terrorist leaders affiliated with the organization have made it clear that they intend to halt the recitation of the increasingly popular word by any means necessary, promising to “cut out the tongues” of those who repeat it.
If taken seriously, that violence would be directed at Secretary of State John Kerry and other U.S. leaders, who have begun using the term ‘Daesh’ to describe the terrorist group in recent weeks.