The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL /ˈaɪsəl/) is an jihadist rebel group that controls territory in Iraq and Syria and also operates in eastern Libya, the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, and other areas of the Middle East,[25] North Africa, South Asia,[26] and Southeast Asia.[26][27] The group's Arabic name is transliterated as ad-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah fī al-‘Irāq wash-Shām leading to the Arabic acronym Da‘ish or DAESH (Arabic pronunciation: da:ʕeʃ). The name is also commonly translated as theIslamic State of Iraq and Syria or Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham and abbreviated ISIS (/ˈaɪsɪs/). In June 2014 the group renamed itself the Islamic State(IS) but the new name has been widely criticized and condemned, with the UN, various governments, and mainstream Muslim groups refusing to use