Due to fear of extremism in the northwestern Muslim-majority region
of Xinjiang, the Chinese government has listed dozens of ‘extreme’
Islamic names banned in the Xinjiang province.
list titled ‘Naming Rules For Ethnic Minorities’ on the government
document which was signed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party and
disseminated by Uighur groups included 23 names related to historic
religious, political figures and places that are deemed to be ‘overly
religious’
The list includes ‘Imam,’ ‘Hajj,’
‘Turknaz,’ ‘Mujahid,’ ‘Muhammad, ‘Azhar’ and ‘Wahhab,’ while ‘Saddam,’
‘Arafat,’ ‘Medina’ and ‘Cairo are also on the list.
According
to the government ruling, if a parent chooses to name his/her child one
of the barred names, the child will be denied government benefits in
the country.
Confirming the ban, a government
official told RFA.
‘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.’ He said
However,
the World Uyghur Congress, an advocacy group from the ethnic minority
operating outside of China, has condemned the new policy.
‘In
setting limits on the naming of Uyghurs, the Chinese government is, in
fact, engaging in political persecution under another guise,’
Dilxat
Raxit, a spokesman for the group, told RFA.
“’They are afraid that
people with such names will become alienated from Chinese policies in
the region.’
360L
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