ISIS vs. ISIL-Unproven!
Summary of eRumor:
A viral email alleges that the Obama administration’s referral to the Islamic State terrorist group as “the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” indicates that the president does not recognize Israel as a sovereign nation and supports the Islamic State’s agenda.
The Truth:
Claims that President Obama supports the Islamic State and doesn’t recognize Israel are not supported by facts and cannot be proven as truth or fiction.
This eRumor accurately describes the region along the Mediterranean Sea that has historically been called the Levant. The Levant refers to modern-day Turkey, Syria and Lebanon. The term has also been used to describe the entire Mediterranean Sea coastline from Egypt to Greece, according to the Ancient History Encyclopedia.
Plenty of Democrats and Republicans refer to the terrorist group as ISIL. The Sunlight Foundation reports a fairly even split between politicians in the two parties. Yet, the eRumor singles out only Obama for alleged pro-Islamic and anti-Semitic motivations.
A number of theories have emerged as to why politicians refer to the group as ISIS or ISIL.
NBC News White House Correspondent Chuck Todd theorized that the president uses ISIL because he chose not to intervene in the Syrian civil war, which some believe is how the group was able to flourish, the Washington Post reports.
Another theory is that some use ISIL because there women are named Isis. A petition started by a woman named Isis Martinez to stop calling the group ISIS had nearly 9,000 signatures by September 2014.
Posted 09/18/14