Shouldn't parents (though there is no mention of the mother) have freedom in selecting their children's names? Maybe. But why "Djehad?" Will this young man be brought up with a mystical, peaceful, interior understanding of the concept for which he is named?
"Leading Islamist Wins Right to Name Son 'Djehad,'" from Spiegel Online, September 2:
A German court has ruled that "jihad" doesn't always have to mean "holy war..."
Of course jihad doesn't "always have to mean holy war." Jihad literally means "struggle" or "striving." Questions remain:
1) When waging "Djehad," precisely what is being struggled against, why, and in what way?
2) What authority does a non-Muslim court hold in defining jihad for Muslims or non-Muslims?
3) What is communicated or implied when a "leading Islamist" who waged jihad violently in Bosnia (see below) calls his son, "Djehad?" Such a name could very well refer to "holy war."
...and that Muslim families have the right to give their children the name.
Do non-Muslim families share this "right"? Non-Muslims may be less liable (ahem) to dub their child "Djehad," but liability is not the issue. Or maybe it is. One group privileged by the law sets precedent for further privileging. Intentionally or not, the statement that "Muslim families have the right" implies special privilege for Muslims.
In Germany, it seems, it's okay to name children "Jihad."
Children named "Djehad" may be halal. Teddy bear owners, on the other hand, may find "Djehad" unbearable.
A Berlin court has ruled that the name Djehad is neither denigrating nor offensive -- even if the child's father is a man considered by German intelligence agents and the United States to be one of the country's most radical Islamists..."Djehad," (is) an alternative spelling of the Arabic word jihad. A city official had previously rejected the name because of its connotation of Islamic holy war.
Was the father unable to convince the official of a true, peaceful intent behind his son's name? If he was later more convincing, will he then adhere to a more peaceful understanding of "Djehad," and repudiate in words and actions any violent connotations "Djehad" carries?
A city official said it had rejected listing the name in the city's birth registry because it could endanger the child's welfare.
A valid concern. Where is the analysis of why, how, and from whom the child's welfare is most prone to endangerment?
Following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States, the term "jihad," which in the West is usually regarded as meaning "holy war," has had negative connotations in Germany. The child's father himself, German-Egyptian Reda Seyam, is being monitored by German intelligence agencies and is known to have fought as a jihadist in Bosnia.
He's "being monitored," good. What business does he have in Deutschland in the first place?
But this week a local superior court, following previous rulings in an administrative court and a regional court, said the name was unobjectionable. In its ruling overturning the city's decision, the court argued that "Djehad" is a common first name for Arab males that also evokes the duty of Muslims to promote their faith both spiritually and within society. The use of the word as a first name, the court argued, was in no way denigrating or offensive.The court conceded that, in recent years, radical Islamists have used the term to express the idea of an armed struggle against people who don't share their faith.
Could this apply to Radical Islamists, like the "father of Djehad?"
But that could not justify a restriction of the right of the parents to choose their child's name as they see fit, they said, adding that the parent's motives for selecting the name were irrelevant.
What's next? Endlosung Schtrumpf? Einsatzgruppen Mueller? The exotic dancer Kristallnacht Mittschlag?
Darnit, and just today I had been pondering moving to Germany! Is nowhere safe??
That said it's still a great place and I'm sure it's miles ahead of my own Britain in terms of safety from creeping (and overt) islamisation, though...sigh...
The next boy will be named Adolf.
Just wait.
Why is government telling anyone what he may name his kid? As far as I'm concerned, if people want to name their kids "Iwannakilloffwhitefolks", that just lets me know who my enemies are. And, if the kid hits eighteen and wants a more "normal" name, let all notary publics and county registrars show sympathy.
This is typically German, always the goody-goodies, the paragons of tolerance and all that crap. Hugh's suggestions hit the nail. A notable German newspaper wrote you don't ask somebody who names his son Adolf, whether he's attracted to Hitler, so let it be with Jihad which means internal struggle btw, a strong commitment for the bearer of that name. I'm only wondering how naive the Germans are.
Jihad's father, the German-Egyptian Reda Seyam is a terrorist and he lives on German welfare, the taxpayer's money. Having six children he receives a lot of child benefits, he's got five children with his second wife, an Albanian woman, one child is from his wife's previous marriage.
I once saw a program on TV about his first wife, Doris Glück. That's not her real name, that's undisclosed, like approvers she got a new identity. When applying for a job she always has to explain irregularities or gaps in her CV. Why did that woman need a new identity? All over the civilised world you have to provide hard evidence to justify that procedure, it's not easy to obtain it. Her ex is obviously a terrorist and the Germans feed him and his spawn. He doesn't raise his kids according to the German constitution. He's got something else in mind. Guess what.
Yeah, "jihad" can mean struggle, but so can the German "Kampf" (as in "Mein .....")
I wonder if the German judge would approve "Kreuzzug" ("crusade")?
Indeed, ebonystone, a German newspaper called it a crusade against giving an innocuous name to a toddler...
"Darnit, and just today I had been pondering moving to Germany! Is nowhere safe?? "
I hear even penguins in Antarctica have taken to wearing burkas. Nowhere is safe anymore.
Here's a picture of the repulsive Reda Seyam, with his still-innocent little boy:
http://www.bild.de/BILD/news/bild-english/world-news/2009/09/02/muslim-fanatic-calls-son-jihad/berlin-court-rules-on-reda-seyam-holy-war-case.html
Hey I met some Muslim named Jihad. Guess what, if he wants to call himself Doggydoo, that is his right too. Jihad is not an uncommon name, and why should they not have the right to name their kid jihad or whatever? Are you so desperate and tyrannical that you want to dictate what a parent can name their kids?
"Hey I met some Muslim named Jihad. Guess what, if he wants to call himself Doggydoo, that is his right too. Jihad is not an uncommon name, and why should they not have the right to name their kid jihad or whatever?"
And we, of course, have a right to judge people who choose to give a child the name "Jihad."
Oh well. Two can play at this game. If the Muslims want to call their sons 'Jihad', then I can think of lots of good names for non-Muslim children.
Anyone reading this, who is in the Resistance in the UK or Europe, and is planning on having kids in the near future, or expects children: there are all kinds of wonderful names you can give your kids. Have three or four or five kids and give them fine, fighting names.
Victor.
Geert.
For girls: Oriana. Victoria, for 'Victory'. Hope, Faith, Honour, Esperanza.
Then there's Geoffrey, Louis, Godfrey, Godric, Richard...lots of names there. Start looking through the history of the Defence Against the Jihad, from the past 1400 years or so; dig out all those splendid Crusader names. Hunt through the stories of the rollback of Islam from Russia and Hungary and the Balkans and find some more fine resounding names of heroes. Non-Muslim Indians who are becoming parents in this dark time - dust off the names of the greatest Sikh and Hindu heroes of the resistance to Jihad, and give those names to your children, and tell them why.
Westerners: dig out that Dictionary of Saints.
In England: George. In the Netherlands - Nicholas. France - Denis, and Jeanne, and Charles for Charles Martel and Jean for the redoubtable Jean de Valette.
And everywhere the names of the great Archangels - Michael. Gabriel. Raphael.
Give your children names they can be proud of, names they can rejoice in, names they can fly like a banner.