I shall name your child.

My cousin has a problem. They can't decide on the name for their baby. No, I stand corrected. They cannot decide on a name for the baby which would be accepted by the Maldivian government.


Now the question is should parents be allowed to choose what they want to call their kids or should the government have a say in it?

Funnily enough its not Golhaabo and his narrow-minded cronies who are the league leaders in this. Several other countries too follow strict regulations. In Germany names like Hitler and Stalin are banned. Also on the banned list are Osama and Jihad. Until recently the Belgian government had a list of names and unless its on the list, the parents cannot choose any old name they liked.

I know in the Maldives the rationale behind this is supposed to be to choose Islamic names. Only what the hell are Islamic names? Aren't these so-called names just Arabic names? I mean as far as I know Abu Bakuru was called Abu Bakuru before he was a Muslim and after he was a Muslim. Same goes for Ali. Even the Prophet himself (PBUH) didn't change his name. Aminath was his mother who died at child-birth. So arent these names just Arabic names?

I am of the view that names should be one thing that parents should be allowed to choose. I came across this on the internet while searching for names. Apparently the Luo in Kenya are famous for their creative naming. Here you might meet a "Microsoft WIlliam Ochieng" or "Sharp Knife Oduor". All right, the poor kid might not be very happy if you call them
Qualiquerine Golhaabo Faranfalli? But surely there should be this much of breathing space for the parents without the state intervening.