Manama: Saudi authorities have announced rules for registering names in the country, including a ban on names that are considered to be in violation of Islamic Sharia code, a media report said.
According to the Interior Ministry’s Civil Affairs Agency, names such as Abd Rasul (the servant of the Prophet) will not be registered. So also, the name Malak (an angel) due to a related fatwa or a binding religious edict prohibiting it, Gulf News reported on Tuesday.
The registration ban also includes titles before names and nicknames, the report said.
Registration of compound names such as Mohammed Saleh and Mohammed Mustafa is not allowed, the agency said. According to Saudi law, the name composed of two words cannot function as one first name.
The agency hasn’t given any official explanation for this ban so far. It is a tradition in several Arab countries to give a newborn a compound name mostly to commemorate two older relatives in the family.
Saudi Arabia is one of the countries with the strictest baby-naming laws. In March 2014, the Saudi Interior Ministry banned 50 baby names that either go against the country's religion and traditions, or are considered too foreign or inappropriate. Similarly, Names related to royalty and those it considers to be blasphemous are banned.
