Stop calling the Islamic State "ISIS"
The consequences of irresponsible and uninformed journalism
Chapter # 1
What's in a name?
By: Billy Rojas
Over 70 million Americans visited the Grand Canyon in the years between
2000 and 2016. Another 40 million people saw the canyon during the 1990s.
Approximately 35 million visited during the 1980s. Adding in the 1970s
and before, this is to discuss more than 150 million living Americans
who have seen the Grand Canyon.
The Canyon not only is noted for its spectacular vistas and exotic
rock formations but for the colorful place names for various natural
features.
To list only a few, this includes:
Apollo Temple,
Krishna Shrine,
Venus Temple,
Shiva Temple,
Vishnu Temple,
Buddha Temple,
Zoroaster Temple
Osiris Temple,
and Isis Temple.
Now, since 2013, courtesy of the news media, a major geological feature
of America's most stunning national park has a name that can easily be
confused with a Muslim terrorist group that is in the news every day
committing unspeakably cruel and criminal acts.
Isis Temple was named before 1909. It is a 7, 012 ft bluff -more than
a mile high, in other words- located near Phantom Creek.
There are other Isis place names in America but a worse problem are the
many
personal names of people called "Isis." And why shouldn't there be many
such names? Isis was a famous Goddess of the classical era in the Roman
Empire and before that in Egypt. Anyone who knows the history of Greece
or Rome or Egypt, and other countries of the period, knows about Isis.
Plutarch, one of the great intellects of the time was a devotee of the
Goddess,
and Cleopatra -yes, that Cleopatra- was regarded as an incarnation
of Isis. None of which is secret knowledge; anyone who has graduated
from an accredited college or university should know these things.
In our age of rediscovery of Goddess religion and arts it is natural that
a growing number of parents would name their daughters "Isis." Hence
the custom of media reference to ISIS as a fanatic group of Muslim
terrorists has had extremely adverse effects in society, and not only
American society.
Several news analysts have taken note of this problem. A good example
is an article by Karen Workman in the November 20, 2015 edition of
the New York Times entitled: "When You’re Named Isis for the Goddess,
Not the Terror Group."
The numbers are not staggering but they are significant -and this is to
discuss
people across the map in many locations. In 2014 there were 396 baby girls
in America who were given the name "Isis" at birth. But this number is
misleading since it does not count girls (or grown women) with this name
who have immigrated to the United States, and it does not factor in the
cumulative effect of several hundred 'Isises' added to the population
year after year. Which is not even to consider women who use Isis as
a stage name; after Ishtar, Isis is the most popular adopted name for
belly dancers. Various musicians and singers have also used the name.
As the Karen Workman article continued:
"For the world’s many Isises, each act of horror carried out by the
Islamic State has been accompanied by the unsettling and repeated use
of their name in news reports."
As a Florida woman said, quoted in the report, “I named my daughter Isis
because it’s strong and meaningful.” Shani Allman went on to say that
to have the name Isis degraded by the news media shows complete
insensitivity on the part of journalists, something which is
"completely disturbing.”
Two other women in different parts of the country added their experiences
to the discussion. For instance, Isis Anchalee, a San Francisco based
platform engineer, said that her account at Facebook was frozen because
people at the social media organization were too ignorant to tell the
difference between the name of a Goddess and the name given
to Muslim crazies who kill people.
Then there was the English woman who "wrote that her 7-year-old daughter,
who was named after the goddess, went to bed crying “because people
were being horrible to her about her name."
It isn't just individual girls or women, a number of Isis theme businesses
have been hurt by association of their company name with Muslim criminals.
Hence Isis Books & Gifts in Colorado was vandalized, its signage and
other property damaged or destroyed.
In defense, the bookstore decided to change its name -but the owner
did not back down on use of the name "Isis." The Denver store is now called
"Goddess Isis Books & Gifts."
However, some businesses have decided that the fight is too costly.
"Isis was once the name of a mobile payment technology and a new condo
building in Florida. They both changed their names last year."
So far the California biotech company, Isis Pharmaceuticals, has decided
to retain its name but reporters from CNN have learned that a name change
is now being considered because of the negative publicity that has the
effect
of associating Isis, the Goddess, with Muslim terrorists.
Another article takes the story even further. This was written by an
American
woman of Egyptian background, Germine Awad, who is an associate professor
of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas in Austin.
"Isis is my daughter's name" was published in USA TODAY on August 24,
2016. The subtitle says it all: "Her namesake is an Egyptian goddess,
not a terror group. We need to break that connection."
As the article explained, the Goddess Isis -who can be thought of as
the patroness of fertility, healing, science, magic, and other such things,
also means “woman of the throne,” hence authority and her function
as a role model for girls. And, hence, "thousands of women and girls
in Egypt and around the world claim this name as their own."
"My husband and I named our 3-year-old daughter Isis because
of its strong Egyptian roots. We wanted her name to reflect her heritage."
But other women also have been named for Isis regardless of their
ethnic background. As Germine Awad noted:
"Notable women named Isis include American actress Isis Carmen Jones,
Brazilian Actress Isis Valverde, Brazilian model Isis Gomes,
Kenyan-American technology leader Isis Nyong’o and British astronomer Isis
Pogson."
But you would never know that there is any other side to the name "Isis"
than that of immorality, violence, and murder in the name of Islam if
you only listened to most of the news media. There is a "constant barrage
of negative news" and daily stories about the “ISIS threat,” or “evil
ISIS,”
or “ISIS attacks” that are everywhere on television. Indeed, "some news
outlets are almost relentless in their use of ISIS to describe the
terrorist group."
Consider the case of an anchorman at CNN who "interviewed a political
expert
on using the term. The guest consistently used ISIL — Islamic State of
Iraq
and the Levant...— but the _CNN_
(http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/16/politics/john-brennan-cia-isis/) anchor kept on
reverting to ISIS."
"As the terror group has risen, the name has fallen off the charts in the
USA.
In 2013, Isis was the 575th most popular American name for girls,
according
to the _Social Security Administration_
(https://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babyname.cgi) . In 2014, it was the 705th. Last
year,
it wasn’t in the top 1,000."
Politicians are also responsible. In 2016 all the Republican candidates for
president used the acronym ISIS. Among high profile GOP leaders
only Senator Lindsey Graham was an exception to the rule.
Because of faulty education, ignorance can also cause harm. After all,
if the only usage of the name someone hears is in reference to Muslim
criminals what kind of reaction can anyone expect? If the very important
historical name "Isis" was not part of one's education there is no
correction
to the impression given by news people. Hence the experience
of Isis Martinez of Miami, Florida, sending an e-mail and receiving
the reply: "You f---ing terrorist."
Then there is the story of Nutella, a health food company that had, until
not long ago, promoted its products through pictures of happy children.
Customarily, the names of the little ones appeared next to their photos
which appeared on jars of hazelnut spread. But the commitment was
only to using the pictures -and the names of two little girls were dropped
without explanation suddenly: Isis Redbanks, 6, of Toronto, and
Isis Taylor, 5, of Australia_._
(https://news.vice.com/article/a-canadian-girl-named-isis-wanted-her-name-on-a-nutella-jar-they-said-no)
Out of frustration, Isis Martinez launched an online petition to try and
counter all the bad publicity; the most recent count of signatories is
65,000.
Another article sheds light on the issue, this is Olga Khazan's essay in
the
September 22, 2014 issue of The Atlantic: "ISIS Has Recently Become
a Popular Girls' Name."
Interesting is the fact that naming girls after Goddesses is a tradition
in the United States. Which makes perfectly good sense when you
think about it. The Statue of Liberty is a statue of a Goddess named
"Liberty."
A Goddess statue is located at the top of the US Capitol dome. Many
historical US coins showed Goddesses. And female deities are used
for symbolic purposes in a number of states and municipalities,
as well as some colleges or universities. Americans have also invented
Goddesses for various purposes, like Portlandia in Oregon, Pacifica
in California, and a "Goddess of Electricity" in about 1900 had national
vogue for a while.
Goddesses have featured in popular song lyrics for many years, either
by name (Aurora, Aphrodite, Sophia, Ishtar, etc) or generic "Goddess,"
in which case the divine female may be identified as Goddess of _________
the hour
the bed
Light
Wisdom
disco
the microphone
nature
hot sex,
to name a few.
This does not count songs from India, where Goddess religion is pervasive
as part of Hinduism. There has been at least one crossover, a Nina Hagen
song
of 1989 which evokes the Great Goddess of that religion.
A wide variety of musicians have recorded songs with Goddess lyrics,
including Barry Manilow, The Letterman, and Bob Dylan,
just to name celebrated performers of the past. Who can forget:
Sweet Melinda
the peasants all call her
the Goddess of Gloom.
She speaks good English
and invites you into her room
There have been many songs that mention the Goddess Venus,
for example Neil Sedaka's Venus in Blue Jeans, a paean to teen girls
as Goddesses, which is a nice idea even if things don't always
go according to plan.
In this vein special mention should be made of maybe the most famous
"Venus song" of Top 40 history, the 1969 hit by a Dutch ensemble called
Shocking Blue. The lyrics go:
A Goddess on a mountain top
burning like a silver flame
A summit of beauty and love
And Venus was her name.
She's got it,
Yeah baby, she's got it...
The point of all this is that Isis was well on the way toward becoming
one of America's favorite Goddesses when the news media decided,
however unwittingly, to sabotage this development and in the process
cause needless difficulties for women with this name, and for organizations
and businesses called "Isis."
As the article concluded: "Organizations that go by _the acronym ISIS_
(http://www.nationaljournal.com/defense/the-islamic-state-is-messing-up-other-pe
ople-s-acronyms-20140917)
have been begging news media to call the Sunni extremist organization
something different. And to some extent, it's working. As _National
Journal_
(http://www.nationaljournal.com/defense/the-islamic-state-is-messing-up-other-people-s-acronyms-20140917)
's
Matt Berman points out, the Associated Press has _moved_
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2014/09/17/ap-settles-on-islamic-state-grou
p-to-describe-isisisil/) to "Islamic State
group" and The New York Times is _going_
(http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/17/world/middleeast/shiite-militias-pose-challenge-for-us-in-iraq.html?hp&actio
n=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region®ion=top-
news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0) with IS. The U.S. government
has increasingly said "ISIL..." But this has not been enough, not nearly.
An AlterNet article by Kali Holloway dated February 6, 2016,
makes the personal dimension of the problem all-too-real. The article
is entitled: Having the First Name 'Isis' Has Become
a Massive Burden for Lots of People.
Some examples:
"A British woman named Isis Lake says _she’s had flight_
(http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/woman-called-isis-feared-barred-7072016)
reservations
repeatedly canceled without reason or explanation. San Francisco’s
Isis Anchalee _tweeted about_
(http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/18/facebook-thinks-im-a-terrorist-woman-named-isis-has-account-disabled)
Facebook shutting down her account
(the company “thinks I’m a terrorist,” she wrote) before multiple
passport screenshot submissions finally compelled company officials
to unlock it again.
"And as if junior high school isn't hard enough, 14-year-old Isis Brown
has the daily hassle of dealing with classmate bullies... calling her
a terrorist. She finally got so fed up with the relentless teasing she made
a video decrying the abuse. As Isis Brown continued: "I have the issue
of every day when I walk into school, just wanting to stop right there
in the middle of the hallway and just cry,"
Kat Lynn has her own story. When her daughter was born in 2002
the name chosen for the baby girl was Isis because the name represented
motherhood and magic and other positive qualities. And the name was
becoming more and more popular. At that time it had passed in popularity
such names as Barbara, Paula, Deborah, and Clare.
All of this has changed -since the year 2013. These days the story is
along
the lines of the following:
“Isis and I frequently get comments about her name, whether it be making
a hair appointment for her and the receptionist commenting on how
her name is 'unfortunate...' "
“In one instance, I was ridiculed in front of a large crowd by a cashier
at
[a popular craft store]. I gave him my email address, which contains
the name Isis. He asked what Isis was and I politely explained it was
the name of my 13-year-old daughter who was named after the Egyptian
goddess. The cashier went on to explain to the large line of customers
that Isis was actually the name of an evil terrorist group that frequently
beheaded people. The area manager apologized later for the incident.”
Isn't it about time that such nonsense stopped -completely. And stopped
whatever CNN might prefer, or Fox, or CBS, NBC, ABC, or any other
TV news service. Current usage of the acronym ISIS has already wrecked
part of our shared culture. This must not continue.
Other women named Isis include:
* Isis Casalduc, a Puerto Rican beauty pageant winner
* Isis Aurora Riviera of Vancouver, Canada, her real name;
she is a belly dancer.
*
Isis Boorman-Tuck of Great Britain, a 15-year-old schoolgirl
* Isis F. (last name not provided)
Artist, musician, songwriter; exhibit at Heart Gallery in Alabama
* Isis Indriya of Colorado, founder with Eve Bradford of The Village,
which is a New Age theater and performance arts and education collective
* Isis Phillips, business analyst, Louisville, Kentucky
* Isis Harris, African-American electrician apprentice, Portland, Oregon
* Isis Fernandes, an 11 year-old girl who lives in Winnipeg, Canada.
* Isis Lowery, Oregon State University gymnast
There are stories in the news, both domestic and foreign, about women
and girls names "Isis." Here are a few Google entries:
_An Irish girl called Isis: 'I have always liked my name' - The Irish
Times_ (htt
p://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/an-irish-girl-called-isis-i-have-always-liked-my-name-1.2853471)
Nov 4, 2016 - Isis Oriana Petrova Godfrey-Glynn was born in Galway 34
years ago.
In her 20s, the meaning of her name changed for many people, but not for
...
_The 7th grader named Isis who finally stood up to bullies who call her
..._
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2016/01/20/isis-a-bullied-7th-grader-has-a-strong-message-for-kids-who-share-her-name/)
_www.washingtonpost.com/isis_ (http://www.washingtonpost.com/isis) bullied
7th grader-has-a-strog-messasge...
Jan 20, 2016 - "So you kids out there with the name Isis, love your name,
cherish your name." ... Girl tells others named 'Isis' to love and
cherish their name.
_Dutch girl Isis gets a new name because of terrorist associations ..._
(http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2015/12/dutch-girl-isis-gets-a-new-name-
because-of-terrorist-associations/)
_www.dutchnews.nl/...dutch-gild-isis-gets-a-new-name-because-of_
(http://www.dutchnews.nl/...dutch-gild-isis-gets-a-new-name-because-of) ...
Dec 3, 2015 - There are some 2500 girls named Isis in the Netherlands and
at least one of them is having her name changed because of the terrorist ..
----------------------------------
We can expect more and more such stories inasmuch as there are a reported
10, 620 Isises living in the USA and many thousands in other countries.
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