( CNN ) Is it ISIL , ISIS or Islamic State ? Whatever you call the jihadist group known for killing dozens of people at a time , carrying out public executions , beheadings , crucifixions and other brutal acts , there is no denying they have captured the world 's attention . On the eve of President Barack Obama 's speech outlining Washington 's strategy against the group , in which he will likely refer to it as ISIL , we ask : What 's in a name ? It all started in 2004 when the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi formed an al Qaeda splinter group in Iraq . Within two years , al-Zarqawi 's al Qaeda in Iraq was trying to fuel a sectarian war against the majority Shiite community . In June 2006 , al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. strike . Abu Ayyub al-Masri , his successor , several months later announced the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq ( ISI ) . In April 2013 , Islamic State in Iraq absorbed the al Qaeda-backed militant group in Syria , Jabhat al-Nusra , also known as the al-Nusra Front . Its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi said his group will now be known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant . Since then , the English-speaking world seems to have had a hard time settling on a name for them . ISIL . President Obama , the United Nations and some news organizations refer to the jihadist group by the acronym ISIL , which stands for Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant . CNN Global Affairs Correspondent Elise Labott said the U.S. has stuck with ISIL because the group appears to have to set it sights beyond Iraq and Syria . And also because Washington does n't want to recognize their plans for a caliphate . CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen believes ISIL is a more accurate translation of the group 's name . The ' L ' stands for Levant which is a translation of `` al-Sham '' -- the word the group uses to refer to itself , Bergen said . `` But the Levant is a relatively obscure word in English -- in English , we refer to Syria . Of course , the Levant is larger than Syria , '' Bergen said . `` We believe this is the most accurate translation of the group 's name and reflects its aspirations to rule over a broad swath of the Middle East , '' said John Daniszewski , vice president and senior managing editor for international news for The Associated Press , according to an AP blog post . Al-Sham is a reference to a region that stretches from Turkey through Syria to Egypt and includes the Palestinian territories , Jordan and Lebanon , according to Rashid Khalidi , a Columbia University professor and expert on Syrian history . Part of the confusion stems from the fact that al-Sham has many meanings in Arabic . Khalidi said : `` How you translate 'al-Sham ' determines whether you have an ' L ' or an 'S ' in English . It 's the same word in Arabic . How you translate the term into English determines if you 're of the 'ISIL ' camp or the 'ISIS ' camp . The Levant , which can extend from northern Egypt to Greece , is not as precise . '' On the United States government 's use of ISIL , Khalidi surmised : `` Maybe because you do n't want to give the dignity of the name that they give themselves . '' Nawaf Obaid , a visiting fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University , said via email that ISIL is preferable in English `` to make it clear to a Western audience . '' Levant denotes Syria and Lebanon in Arabic , `` so better to stick to ISIL and clarify that it 's the same as ISIS , but a more accurate translation from the Arabic , '' he said . ISIS . ISIS is an English translation of the acronym in Arabic for Al-Dawla Al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham , or the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham . The organization has said its goal is to form an Islamic state , or caliphate , over the entire region , stretching from Turkey through Syria to Egypt and including the Palestinian territories , Jordan and Lebanon . Some think ISIS flows better as a word in English . It also happens to be the name of one of a goddess of ancient Egypt . CNN has been referring to the organization as ISIS , shorthand for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria . Arabic speakers say al-Sham can be translated to mean the Levant , Syria , greater Syria , and even Damascus . Islamic State . The jihadists like to refer to themselves simply as the Islamic State , a term more accurately reflecting the organization 's aspirations of creating a caliphate across national borders . They prefer to be known either as the Islamic State -- al-Dawla al-Islamiya in Arabic -- or just the State , al-Dawla . That is what they call themselves in online videos . DAIISH . Finally , a lesser-known acronym to Western readers : DAIISH . It is the straight Arabic shorthand for the group known as : al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi Iraq wa al-Sham , commonly used in the Arab world and among many Arab media outlets and politicians . When people in the Arab world , use the term DAIISH , it 's derogatory , according to Columbia 's Khalidi . `` Those who disagree with them , call them DAIISH , '' Khalidi said , adding that the jihadists have objected to the name .
U.N. is translation of the acronym in English for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham . Iraq officials , the U.N. , some media use ISIL : Islamic State in Iraq and the the Islamic State of Iraq . Jihadist group prefers `` the Islamic State '' or just ` `` the Islamic State ''