Is

[homedeeth]

Why do news readers, journalists and correspondents refer to Islamic state as 'the so called Islamic state'?

[bookbinder]

Probably because it isn't a legally-defined state or country or nation.

[ABerrant]

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question1408073.html

[MallyJ]

Because they are not following the rules of Islam nor are they based in a country/ state.

[CrapAtCryptics]

I thought they`d agreed to call it Isil or Daesh

[jno]

they're thought to be not a proper state, and they need to be for the purposes of having a caliphate.

All the same, it can be hard to decide what defines a state, given that an awful lot of them have been formed by military takeovers of land. World governments are very very reluctant to let anyone else join the club