British Prime Minister David Cameron has called on the BBC not to use the term “Islamic State” for the extremist group in Iraq and Syria, according to the Daily Mail, arguing that the reference to Islam perpetuates a “perversion of a great religion.” 

“I wish the BBC would stop calling it Islamic State because it’s not an Islamic State; what it is is an appalling, barbarous regime,” Cameron said, during an interview on a BBC morning show. 

“It is a perversion of the religion of Islam and many Muslims listening to this program will recoil every time they hear the words ‘Islamic State. 

Cameron used the alternative term “ISIL,” or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, during the show.

Alternative terms for Islamic State include Daesh (the Arabic acronym) and ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria); Cameron insisted that “so-called Islamic State” or “ISIL” are “better” terms for the group. 

“I think this is particularly offensive to many Muslims who see, as I see, not state but a barbaric regime of terrorism and oppression that takes delight in murder and oppressing women and murdering people because they are gay,” he added. 

“I don’t think we will move them all the way to Daesh so I think saying ISIL is better than using Islamic State because it is in my view neither Islamic nor a state.”