US parents fight for right to call their child Allah

A CIVIL rights group in the United States has launched a legal action against Georgia over the state’s refusal to allow a couple to officially name their 22-month-old child Allah.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Georgia filed the lawsuit recently in Fulton County Superior Court on behalf of the couple, Elizabeth Handy and Bilal Walk.

At issue is the young girl’s proposed last name of Allah.

State law requires a baby’s surname to be either that of the father or the mother for the initial birth record, lawyers for the Georgia department of public health told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper.

State officials say the child’s name – ZalyKha Graceful Lorraina Allah – should end with either Handy, Walk or a combination of the two.

The couple said they gave her the name Allah because it is “noble”.

“Simply put, we have a personal understanding that we exercise in regards to the names,” Mr Walk said. “It is nothing that we want to go into detail about, because it is not important. What is important is the language of the statute and our rights as parents.”

ACLU of Georgia filed the lawsuit on behalf of the couple, who say they cannot obtain a social security number for their daughter because they do not have a birth certificate. They also anticipate problems with access to healthcare, schools and travel.

“It is just plainly unfair and a violation of our rights,” Mr Walk said.

The state’s decision was an example of government overreach, Andrea Young of ACLU said.

“The parents get to decide the name of the child. Not the state. It is an easy case,” said Michael Baumrind, another attorney representing the family.