Decrypting Erdogan's 'Daesh' stumbles

The middle aged among us remember the term “Kremlinologists,” used to refer to political scientists who analyzed and otherwise attributed meaning to the machinations in the closed world of the Soviet regime during the Cold War years. It appears that today “Erdoganologists” are needed to understand some of the language of Turkey's increasingly inward-looking “one-man rule.” In particular, a development during a visit to Paris Oct. 31 by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has aroused the curiosity of budding Erdoganologists.

Erdogan had been using the acronym “ISIS” to refer to the Islamic State (IS, formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham), but suddenly replaced it with the term “Deash” at a news briefing after meeting with his French counterpart, François Hollande. Later that day, he again used “Deash,” at an appearance at the French Institute of International Relations. After returning to Turkey, he addressed a mass rally in Istanbul’s Esenler district on Nov. 2 and made references to “Deash.” As anyone familiar with the group's Arabic acronym knows, this was wrong. The correct acronym is “Daesh.”

Here we have two questions for the Erdoganologists: First, why did Erdogan suddenly stop saying “ISIS” and began using “Deash”? Second, why is he mispronouncing “Daesh” as “Deash”?

It is well known that since Sept. 9, Hollande and other members of the French government have for political reasons been using “Daesh,” instead of “EIIL,” the French acronym for the jihadist group's name. While answering questions in the French parliament on Sept. 10, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius had this to say on the subject: “The terrorist group [IS] is not a state. It wants to be one but it is not. I suggest we even avoid using the term ‘Islamic State’ because it can cause confusion by equating Islam with Islamism. As the Arabs say it, we should also say ‘Daesh.’ I will personally call them ‘Daesh cutthroats.’”