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Decrypting Erdogan's 'Daesh' stumbles

Why did President Recep Tayyip Erdogan begin using an incorrect Arabic acronym, Deash, in referring to the Islamic State immediately after his meeting with French President François Hollande?
A Free Syrian Army fighter carries his weapon as he stands in front of graffiti that reads  "Daesh (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ) down" at Masaken Hanano neighborhood in Aleppo January 7, 2014. Five days of heavy rebel infighting has shaken the ISIL, which lost its main base in the northern city of Aleppo to rival rebels on Wednesday, according to a monitoring group. Picture taken January 7, 2014. REUTERS/Jalal Alhalabi (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTX1767F
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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.”

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