Tony Hall, the general director of BBC, has rejected the demand of over 120 UK MP's to stop the channel from using the term "Islamic State" when referring to the terrorist group, asking instead to use the term "Daesh."
Demands to replace the term with "Daesh" is to "remain impartial to the terrorist group," according to a report by the International Business Times.
The move –initiated by Conservative MP for Gillingham and Rainham, Rehman Chishti – was communicated through a letter following Prime Minister David Cameroon's criticism of the BBC on the Today program on Monday. Cameroon said Muslim listeners would "recoil every time they hear the words Islamic State" to refer to its "appalling, barbarous regime," The Guardian reported.
Hall rejected the demands saying that the adoption of Daesh would not serve the broadcaster's impartiality because it puts the organization at risk of being perceived as supportive of the group's opponents, the Times reported.
In his response to the letter, Tony Hall said: "...the BBC would use terms such as the 'Islamic State group' to distinguish it from an actual, recognised state... We will also continue to use other qualifiers when appropriate, [example] extremists, militants, fighters etc. To avoid overuse we will also usually revert to IS after one mention of the Islamic State group."
