Of sensibilites

[Timothe Litt]

I don't really want to pick on any one government - they all have their
oddities. 

But just to sensitize folks to what this looks like in real life, here
is a naming example from Saudi Arabia.  Think of the Israeli prime
minister trying to register a domain in his name for his after life as a
political commentator or author.

Of course, your country's sensibilities may vary from this one.

Or feel free to put it into your own context in light of the current
discussions:

By LEON WATSON
PUBLISHED: 16:51 GMT, 13 March 2014 | UPDATED: 16:56 GMT, 13 March 2014

Saudi Arabia has issued a list of 50 names new parents are banned from
giving their children, including Linda, Lauren, Sandy and Amir.

The Arab nation's interior ministry justified the ban by saying the
names either contradicted the culture or religion of the kingdom, or
were foreign, or 'inappropriate'.

Among the others are Alice, Elaine and Maya and Binyamin, the Arabic
name for Benjamin.

International fashion model Linda Evangelista would not be able to name
a child after herself in Saudi Arabia under new rules

The names fit into at least three categories: those that offend
perceived religious sensibilities, those that are affiliated to royalty
and those that are of non-Arabic or non-Islamic origin, Gulf News reported.
A number of other names appear that do not necessarily fit into any
category and it is therefore unclear as to why they would have been banned.
Names such as Abdul Naser and Binyamin are not found to be particularly
offensive to Muslims.

Binyamin is believed in Islam to be the son of Prophet Jacob (Yaqoub)
and the full brother of Prophet Joseph, but it also happens to be the
name of the Israeli prime minister.

Abdul Naser, similarly, is the name of the famous Arab nationalist ruler
of Egypt, who was at odds with Saudi Arabia.
Names such as Abdul Nabi and Abdul Hussain, common among Shiites and
some Sunni Arabs, are controversial because of the multiple ways in
which they can be interpreted.

Abdul in Arabic means 'worshipper of' or 'slave of', while Nabi means
'prophet' and Rasool means 'messenger'.
Those who oppose such names argue that Abdul means 'worshipper of' and
is therefore forbidden as only God can be worshipped.

Most Muslim names with Abdul carry one of God's 99 Islamic names. Abdul
Rahman, for example, comes from the name Al Rahman.
Another set of names that is banned includes those that have to do with
royalty, especially titles such as Sumuw (highness), Malek (king) and
Malika (Queen) and other royal terms such as Al Mamlaka (the kingdom).
Some of the names on the list are not uncommon among Arabs, including
Malak (angel), Amir (prince), Abdul Naser and Jibreel (Gabriel).

THE CHILDREN'S NAMES NOW BANNED IN SAUDI ARABIA
Malaak (angel)
Abdul Aati
Abdul Naser
Abdul Musleh
Nabi (prophet)
Nabiyya (female prophet)
Amir (prince)
Sumuw (highness)
Al Mamlaka (the kingdom)
Malika (queen)
Mamlaka (kingdom)
Tabarak (blessed)
Nardeen
Maya
Linda
Randa
Basmala (utterance of the name of God)
Taline
Aram
Nareej
Rital
Alice
Sandy
Rama (Hindu god)
Maline
Elaine
Inar
Maliktina
Lareen
Kibrial
Lauren
Binyamin (Arabic for Benjamin)
Naris
Yara
Sitav
Loland
Tilaj
Barrah
Abdul Nabi
Abdul Rasool
Jibreel (angel Gabriel)
Abdul Mu’een
Abrar
Iman
Bayan
Baseel
Wireelam
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2580248/Saudi-Arabia-bans-naming-children-Linda.html

-- 
Timothe Litt
ACM Distinguished Engineer
--------------------------
This communication may not represent the ACM or my employer's views,
if any, on the matters discussed. 

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