Egypt Threatens to Jail Parents Who Give Their Kids ‘Western’ Names

Egyptian authorities are considering a ban on parents giving their children “Western” names, and punishing offenders with jail. Members of parliament in the African nation are in line to recommend a proposal to outlaw “foreign” names like “Mark”, “Peter” and “Sam”. Advocates of the policy claim that a spread of American and European names in new generations will divorce Egyptians from their “true identity”.
Lawmakers have heard that abandoning traditional Arabic names will lead to an “undesired and radical change” in the Muslim majority nation and should therefore be expunged from society. The Egpytian Parliament’s Complaints and Suggestions Committee met on Tuesday to discuss the draft law. It was introduced by MP Bedier Abdel Aziz, and seeks to prohibit the usage of “foreign” names for newly born babies in Egypt, according to the Egypt Independent.
He added: “Our sons will no longer be connected to their true identity” before claiming that non-Arabic names are difficult for Egyptians to pronounce.