The problem with modern secular liberalism, at least here in the UK, was crystallised perfectly in a recent exchange between a group of Members of Parliament (MPs) and Lord Hall, the Director-General of the BBC.
The exchange related to what we should call the Islamic terrorist group variously known as IS (Islamic State), ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria), or ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). Some recent commentators have abandoned these acronyms, in recognition of a number of mainstream Muslims who argue that “the term “Islamic State” gives a religious dignity to what is simply a terrorist sect” (Telegraph). Instead, they prefer the name “Daesh,” an Arabic acryonym for “Al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi Iraq wa al-Sham“, the full name of the group.
The term “Daesh” has an additional benefit: it sounds similar to the Arabic word “Dahes,” meaning “one who sows discord,” and is therefore regarded as highly insulting by IS/ISIS/ISIL followers. It’s always nice to be able to insult people who so richly deserve it.
This rings all kinds of biblical bells, of course. Think of the deliberate mockery of King Eglon of Moab in Judges 3 – the horrendously and hilariously overweight monarch whose name sounds like a blend of the Hebrew words for “fat” and “cow”. (My kids have had similar fun ever since they started learning German, when they discovered that the German for “Father” is “Vater“, and for “Daddy” is “Vati“. And yes, those V’s are all pronounced “F”.)
So, in July this year, a group of 120 British MPs wrote to Lord Hall, the director-general of the BBC, urging him to instruct his staff to use “Daesh” as well. Lord Hall replied that he was unable to comply, since this would break BBC impartiality rules by giving viewers the impression that the BBC was explicitly supporting the group’s opponents.
So here we are in the UK, where our Counter-Terrorism Security Office has just issued advice telling us to “run and hide” rather than “play dead” if the horrors of the Paris attacks should be repeated here, and our taxpayer-funded BBC can’t call a spade a spade without breaking its own impartiality regulations.
Meanwhile, in other unrelated news, expect Christian doctors to continue to be disciplined for offering to pray with their patients, Christian employees to continue to be told they can’t wear a cross in the office, and Christian Ministers to be arrested for reading out Bible verses in public.
