Saudi Arabia bans 50 blasphemous, royal and foreign baby names
Kingdom makes naming of babies much easier after eliminating options such as Alice, Linda and Binyamin
ALICE and Amir are on a list of 50 names that Saudi Arabia has released in an effort to clean up what it sees as the blasphemous, foreign-influenced naming of children. Many of the names that will now be forbidden in the strict Muslim kingdom are popular across the Middle East.
The names on the list published by the interior ministry fall into three categories: foreign names, blasphemous names and names relating to royalty.
Popular Western options like Alice and Linda appear on the list, as well as Malika (which means ‘queen’) and Amir (prince).
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Names that are not uncommon across the Arab world, such as Malak (angel) and Jibreel (Gabriel), are also banned for being blasphemous, the Sunday Telegraph reports.
Some names fall foul of the multiple interpretations attributed to them. Abdul, for example, means ‘worshipper of’ or ‘slave of’. Some strict Muslims argue that only Allah can be worshipped, so a name such as Abdul Nabi (worshipper of the Prophet) would be blasphemous.
But there seems to be a fourth category of names on the banned list: otherwise inoffensive names that happen to have been given to enemies of Saudi Arabia.
Gulf News points out that Binyamin, which has been banned, is a perfectly good Muslim name. Binyamin is believed in Islam to be the son of the Prophet Jacob. Unfortunately it is also the name of the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu. The same goes for Abdul Naser, more commonly spelt ‘Nasser’ in the West and the name of the Arab nationalist and Egyptian leader who was at odds with Saudi Arabia.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Unpasteurised milk and the American right
Under the radar Former darling of health-conscious liberal foodies is now a 'conservative culture war signal': a sign of mistrust in experts
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Government shutdown looming? Blame the border
Talking Points Democrats and Republicans say funding for immigration enforcement is the budget battle's latest sticking point. That's about all they agree on.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Conservatives have not limited their attack on reproductive rights to the US'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Modi opens contentious Ram temple at one of India's 'most vexed religious sites'
Talking Point Indian PM kicks off re-election campaign by affirming Hindu nationalism, while Muslim minority feel pain of history and threat of future
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
South Sudan and the ‘Pilgrims of Peace’
feature LGBT rights likely to overshadow religious leaders’ visit to African nation
By Arion McNicoll Published
-
What does the rise in non-Christians mean for the Church of England?
Today's Big Question Latest census reveals England and Wales now minority Christian countries for first time
By The Week Staff Published
-
Pope admits that priests and nuns watch porn
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By The Week Staff Published
-
How Salman Rushdie exposed fault lines between the West and Islam
feature Stabbing of The Satanic Verses author has stirred debate about censorship and religious violence
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Unification Church: who are the Moonies?
feature Man who killed former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe cited grudge against the global religious movement
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Russian religious leader providing ‘spiritual cover’ for Vladimir Putin’s war
Why Everyone’s Talking About Patriarch Kirill I facing EU sanctions over support for Ukraine invasion
By The Week Staff Published
-
Jackie Weaver did indeed have ‘no authority’
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By The Week Staff Published