Now that the existence of the jihadist group bent on the revival of a theocratic caliphate in Iraq the Levant seems to have invaded the Indonesian sphere of consciousness, especially with evidence of a similar local variant, we may want to pay attention to the semantics involved. Most of the Indonesian press refers to the group as ISIS but the US government uses the acronym ISIL while the Arabic version is DAIISH. So what would be the appropriate media name, both semantically and historically, for it?
To begin with, ISIS as an acronym to represent the group does contain a toponymical error. It is a misnomer to assume that the last S in the acronym represents Syria. Instead, it stands for the Arabic word “al-Sham” in the original name for the group, which is “Al-Dawlah Al-Islamiyah fe Al-Iraq wa Al-Sham.” The word refers to a region in the Eastern Mediterranean that comprises in modern geography the states of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Cyprus.
Moreover, ISIS may be confused with the ancient Egyptian goddess Ausset, whose Hellenized and Romanized name is Isis. A paragon of divine motherhood, a fertility deity, the goddess Isis is the furthest metaphor for what the Middle Easter jihadist group personifies.
A hymn to Isis in ancient Egyptian that was popular during the height of her cult in the ancient Roman world refers to her as Lady of Peace and Goddess of Life. It would seem from their destructive acts and reign of terror, the new self-proclaimed caliphate is about anything but peace and life.
Isis as the embodiment of the divine feminine is not only limited to ancient Egypt. Following the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, her cult spread throughout the Roman empire and was indeed one of the most popular religions at the time. The only novel written during the Roman era that has survived today is the Metamorphoses of Apuleius by Lucius Apuleius. It tells the tale of Apuleius, a follower of the cult of Isis, whose personal tragedies are as such that in the end only a divine intervention by Isis could resolve them.
In modern times, the name Isis is revived to represent the feminine side of God in Western culture by new religious groups such as Thelema, founded by British mystic Aleister Crowley, and Rosicrucianism.
The name Isis is also used by the Fellowship of Isis (FOI), a multi-faith organization, whose members include the recently deceased NPR correspondent Margot Adler. In fact the FOI recently put out a notice on its website to object to the use of the acronym ISIS. The group has also released press statements to that effect.
Oddly enough, the US government actually uses the acronym ISIL for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in its press releases. The Levant is a geographical term to refer to a region in the Eastern Mediterranean which roughly corresponds with the Arabic Al-Sham.
The downside of the more accurate ISIL is that the Levant these days is only used in the academia and that it has become unknown in the world at large, joining rarely used toponyms such as the Occident. In terms of its usage in Indonesia, of course, it is practically non-existent.
The jihadist group at work in DAIISH is rooted in the fundamentalist Wahhabi form of Islam, as espoused by the likes of Abu Bakar Basyir, the Indonesian cleric currently held in police custody for involvement in terrorist activities. More unsettling are the recent reports that DAIISH copycat movements have indeed reached the shores of Indonesia and are recruiting members in the country.
Yet can DAIISH or ISIL remain as they are, once put in an Indonesian context? Would it not become Al-Dawlah Al-Islamiyah fe Al-Indonesia (DAII) and perhaps Islamic State of Indonesia (ISI)?
Interestingly, a political movement to establish an Islamic state in Indonesia has an historical precedent in DI-TII or Darul Islam-Tentara Islam Indonesia, also known as NII, Negara Islam Indonesia or the Islamic State of Indonesia.
The DI-TII-NII did in fact set up its government in parts of Indonesia from 1948 and throughout the 1950s, the last cell of the movement being routed out in 1962 in West Java.
Without a doubt, the DI-TII-NII of the past is identical in its aims as the current DAIISH or ISIL copycat movement. They both desire to set up an Islamic caliphate or Dar al-Islam in Indonesia. So, the use of ISIS by the Indonesian press is both a misnomer and a galling example of historical amnesia.
The Indonesian DAIISH has an historical precursor in DI-TII-NII almost seven decades ago. To call it ISIS seems like a denial, an unconscious act perhaps to relegate the blame for such an extremist group to some foreign influence. It is perhaps time we acknowledged that an old demon has been resurrected and call it by what we have always called it.
Johannes Nugroho is a writer from Surabaya.
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