Holy name of 'Shri Rama' banned in Saudi Arabia

March 17, 2014 

Phalgun Krushnapaksha 1, Kaliyug Varsha 5115

Saudi Arabia : In a latest development in Saudi Arabia, country’s Interior Ministry has banned 50 names arguing that they contradict the culture or religion of the Kingdom. This rule would ensure parents living in the Gulf country cannot name their child ‘Rama’, ‘Linda’, etc.

As per a report published in TOI, parents in the kingdom will reportedly no longer be able to call their children by names such as Linda, Alice, Elaine or Binyamin (Arabic for Benjamin) after the civil affairs department at the Ministry issued a list of the prohibited names.

The Interior Ministry has banned several names as they consider them as ‘blasphemous’, non-Arabic or non-Islamic, or contradictory to the kingdom’s culture or religion, Gulf News has reported.

The ban was also allegedly justified by the Ministry because some of the names were deemed foreign or ‘inappropriate’, said the report.

Source : Niti Central