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What's In A Name? ISIS, ISIL, Islamic State Or Daesh

NPR

Published November 16, 2015 at 1:52 PM EST

After the Paris terrorist attacks, Secretary of State John Kerry and President Barack Obama joined French President Francois Holland in calling the Islamic State militant group “Daesh.”

At a press conference today, President Obama returned to using the term “ISIL” (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), which is a variation of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria).

Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan talks with Abderrahim Foukara of Al Jazeera about these different names, their roots and the politics behind them.

Guest

Abderrahim Foukara, Washington bureau chief for Al Jazeera. He tweets @afoukara.