Laurence Fabius, France’s foreign minister contends that it is incorrect to refer to extremists in Syria and Iraq as the Islamic State, as “they do not represent Islam or a state.”
France has lobbied for international action to combat extremists and is arming Kurdish authorities to fight jihadists. Francois Hollande is travelling to Iraq to host an international conference that will highlight initiatives to combat the group and aid Iraq.
Fabius referred to the group as Da’ash, the acronym in Arabic for its former name Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. He stated, “the determination of the Daesh butchers is strong. Ours must be even stronger.”
Egypt’s top Islamic authority also stated that the group should not be referred to as the Islamic State.
