Fresh from its destruction of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud – thought to have been founded sometime around the 13th century BC – the militant group ISIL are now affecting the reputation of an even older Middle Eastern civilisation.
Over the weekend, it was announced that the UN’s weather agency had removed Isis – an acronym also used for the group – from its list of future hurricane names. It will be replaced by Ivette. Isis, of course, is the name of an ancient Egyptian goddess.
The weather agency's decision is unfortunate, if only because it inflates the extremist group's importance. With due respect to all those who have suffered as the hurricane of ISIL has blown through Syria and Iraq, these militants are but a minor part in the long history of the Middle East. They will be destroyed and, in time, few will recall the name of the bunch of thugs currently terrorising this region. The storm will have passed.
