science

Names of the Islamic State

Names of the Islamic State is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Names of the Islamic State rather than just read about it. In short: The name of the Islamic State has been contentious since 2013. In Arabic, the group called itself al-Dawla al-ʾIslāmiyya fī al-ʿIrāq wa al-Shām, which it adopted in April 2013.

Key takeaways

Names of the Islamic State belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Names of the Islamic State to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Names of the Islamic State from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The name of the Islamic State has been contentious since 2013. In Arabic, the group called itself al-Dawla al-ʾIslāmiyya fī al-ʿIrāq wa al-Shām, which it adopted in April 2013. The literal translation of its previous name resulted in confusion, resulting in both ISIS and ISIL, two acronyms based on different literal translations of the name into English. The acronym for their Arabic name is "Daesh" (Arabic: داعش, romanized: Dāʿish, lit. 'ISIS'), which is the common name for the group used by their opponents in the Muslim world. Transliterations of the Arabic acronym are also used in other languages including English and Israeli Hebrew (Hebrew: דאעש). The group's current name caused controversy due to its English translation as Islamic State and as a result, both the previous acronyms are still widely used, or a qualifier is often added to the IS name, such as "Islamic State militant group", "Islamic State extremist group", "Islamic State terrorist group," "self-styled Islamic State" or "so-called Islamic State."

Background

Originating in Iraq, the group underwent various previous name changes, and since 2006 had been known as Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), a name which had failed to gain any traction, as the group had failed to gain or hold any significant territory as ISI, and thus widespread confusion over what to call them was largely absent. Confusion began when the group gained further territory and changed its name to ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah fī 'l-ʿIrāq wa-sh-Shām in April 2013 as it expanded into Syria. It then changed to ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah in June 2014 as part of a desire to re-establish a caliphate. The rendering of the Arabic name in English varies, due to imprecise translation. In the Arab world and beyond, the group is referred to by its Arabic-language acronym "Daesh" (alt. Da'esh | Arabic: داعش | pronunc. dah-ESH). The acronym is derived from the group's extended name: "D" / daal(د) = ad-Dawla, "the state [of]", "A" / alif(ا) = al-Islamiyya, "Islam", "E" / 'ayn(ع) = fi'l- 'iraq, "in Iraq", "Sh" / shin(ش) = wa'ash-Sham, "and the Sham (region roughly equivalent to the Levant)". "Daesh" is a transcription of the pronunciation of the group's acronym in Arabic. Unfortunately, it is not an English-language acronym in its own right, due to discrepancies between English/Arabic alphabets and phonologies. Specifically, the Arabic letter shin ش has no letter equivalent in English, though it can be easily represented by the digraph "sh". Alif ا is usually equated to the letter A, but in fact can represent several different vowel sounds as well as a glottal stop, depending on the context (Daesh vs. al-Islam). Additionally, the pronunciation of the letter 'ayn ع is also variable, and has no equivalent letter or vocalization in English.

Translation of the name's components

Literal translation of ash-Shām The parallel use of both ISIS and ISIL as acronym originated from uncertainty in how to translate the Arabic word "ash-Shām" (or "al-Sham") in the group's April 2013 name, which can be translated variously as "the Levant", "Greater Syria", "Syria" or even "Damascus". This led to the widely used translations of "Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant", "Islamic State in Iraq and Syria" or "Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham". "The Levant" generally refers to at least part or all of Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon, though its definition varies. According to the BBC, since neither "Levant", nor "Syria", reflect the group's likely meaning of the word al-Sham in Arabic, "various experts have therefore said that the word al-Sham should not be translated" (when rendering the long form name). According to Syrian-American journalist Hassan Hassan, if the term Levant had been the intended meaning, the Arabic word would have been "Bilad al-Sham", whereas the more likely meaning of Greater Syria still leads to the acronym ISIS.

Literal translation of ad-Dawlah In contrast to the difficulties in translation of the group's former name, according to The Guardian the group's 2014 name "near enough" literally translates to "Islamic State", however there is still a remaining difficulty since this fails to capture the true Arabic connotations, which are closer to a religious concept of a united Islamic community (ummah) under Sharia law, as opposed to western concept of a bureaucratic state apparatus.

Other names Reflecting the desire to build a caliphate, the group also refers to itself as "al-Dawlah", meaning simply "the State". and by "Dawlatul Islam" meaning "state of Islam". Syrians living under the group's control referred to them as "al-tanẓīm", Arabic for "the organization". Reflecting the group's origins as a renegade splinter group, supporters of Al-Qā`idah referred to the group simply as "al-Baġdādī's group".

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Names of the Islamic State

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Names of the Islamic State claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Names of the Islamic State before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Names of the Islamic State ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Names of the Islamic State

In research: Names of the Islamic State appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Names of the Islamic State in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Names of the Islamic State is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Islam-related controversies, Islamic State, Naming controversies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Names of the Islamic State outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Names of the Islamic State in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Names of the Islamic State means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Names of the Islamic State out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Names of the Islamic State in simple terms?

The name of the Islamic State has been contentious since 2013. In Arabic, the group called itself al-Dawla al-ʾIslāmiyya fī al-ʿIrāq wa al-Shām, which it adopted in April 2013.

Why does Names of the Islamic State matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Names of the Islamic State?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Names of the Islamic State.