‘Saddam’, ‘Jihad’ among baby names banned by China in Xinjiang

names for babies just got tougher in China’s restive Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, with the government issuing a list of banned Muslim names for newborns using which could deprive the child of government benefits.

A list with HT puts the number of banned names at 29. Critics have called the rule “absurd” and part of a wider crackdown on the Muslim Uyghur community – including restrictions on beards and veils -- some of whom have been accused of violence, terrorism and fomenting separatism.

Xinjiang is home to some 10 million Muslim Uyghurs, a little less than half of China’s 23 million Muslims. Under the new ruling by the Communist Party of China , certain names like Islam, Jihad, Saddam, Medina and Imam have been deemed “overly religious” and banned from being used. Names which connote the star and moon symbol, used widely in Islam, have also been banned.

Children with the banned names will not be given a ‘hukou’ or a local household registration without which there is no access to civic amenities like education and healthcare.

“You’re not allowed to give names with a strong religious flavor, such as Jihad or names like that. The most important thing here is the connotations of the name ... [it mustn’t have] connotations of holy war or of splittism [Xinjiang independence],” an anonymous official told the Radio Free Asia .

“This is another example of an extremely hostile attitude towards the Uyghur community. If the Uyghurs don’t accept (the rules) there will be allegations and punishment,” Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the exile World Uyghur Congress group told HT in an email. “This is the latest in a slew of new regulations restricting religious freedom in the name of countering ‘religious extremism’” said Human Rights Watch.