Shakir Mustafa Teaching Professor of Arabic s.mustafa@northeastern.edu 617.373.6103 Expertise Arabic Shakir Mustafa for Northeastern Global News Weaponizing language: How the meaning of ‘Allahu akbar’ has been distorted Weaponizing language: How the meaning of ‘Allahu akbar’ has been distorted The man who shouted “Allahu akbar” after driving into a crowd illustrates a fundamental misunderstanding of its use and syntax in the Quran. 3Qs: What using the name ‘Daesh,’ rather than ‘ISIS’ or ‘ISIL,’ really means 3Qs: What using the name ‘Daesh,’ rather than ‘ISIS’ or ‘ISIL,’ really means Three faculty members—Jonathan Kaufman, director of the School of Journalism, Shakir Mustafa, teaching professor of Arabic, and Heather Littlefield, associate teaching professor in linguistics—explain the differences among the names ISIS, ISIL, and Daesh and why they matter.