Saudi authorities have announced bans on names considered to violate Islamic Sharia law. The restrictions come amid Interior Ministry’s Civil Affairs Agency introducing new rules for registering names in the kingdom. According to Gulf News, names such as Abd Rasul (the Slave of the Messenger) will not be registered. The common girls name Malak (angel) is also not allowed due to a related fatwa, or religious edict which prohibited it. The registration ban also extends to titles preceding names and nicknames. Compound names such as Muhammad Saleh and Muhammad Mustafa are also no longer allowed in accordance with the new rules. It is tradition in several Arab countries to give a newborn a compound name either to commemorate two older relatives … Continue reading Saudi bans names deemed ‘anti-Sharia’