Rabat, Morocco (TMT)- The Chinese authorities have issued a ban on 22 Muslim names in the Hoten prefecture in northwestern China’s Xinjiang Uyghur, well-known for its Muslim population, with the list including famous names like Fatima, Aicha, Khadija, Hussein, Abdellaziz, Muslima and others.
The decision was described as “foolish” by many Chinese, but the chinese authorities rational behind this sweeping decision is “to discourage extremism among the region’s Uyghur residents.”
According to Radio Free Asia, the Chinese authorities is even “threatening to forbid children with such names from attending school unless their parents change them, according to local police and residents.”
As soon as the decision was made, the authorities even came knocking on doors and asking people and parents to change their names as soon as possible.
“My daughter’s name is Muslime, so the village police came to our house and told us that we must change our daughter’s name as soon as possible,” a Muslim mother told Radio Free Asia.
“The police explained to us that a name such as Muslime was officially forbidden. Under such circumstances, we were forced to change our daughter’s name,” the Muslim mother further noted.
The Muslim mother said that the police authorities told her not to ask “any foolish questions.”
“It is the decision of the township and village authorities. Don’t ask any foolish questions,” they told her.
The banned female names are Amanet, Muslime, Mukhlise, Munise, Aisha, Fatima, Khadija.
The banned male names are Bin Laden, Saddam, Hussein, Arafat, Mujahid, Mujahidulla, Asadulla, Abdul’aziz, Seyfulla, Guldulla, Seyfiddin, Zikrulla, Nesrulla, Shemshiddin and Pakhirdin.
The Moroccan Times’ editorial believes that “it may be argued that it is a right decision to ban names like “Bin Laden” to protect kids from growing despised and bullied upon by other kids at school due to the terrorist connotation the name “Ben Laden” and others bears, yet banning other names like Aisha, Khadija, and Fatima is by all means ridicule.”
The Moroccan Times.
