14th June, 2017
(AFP Photo/Attila Kisbenedek)
Parents in Egypt could soon be sentenced to six months in jail for giving their children ‘Western’ names such as ‘Mark’, ‘Lara’ and ‘Sam’.
A draft law banning the use of ‘foreign names’ was introduced by MP Bedier Abdel Aziz and discussed by his country’s parliament yesterday.
According to the Egypt Independent, he said “The fine should be between LE1,000- LE5,000($60-$300) and the sentence should be six months at the most.
Using such Western names and abandoning Arabic ones will lead to an undesired and radical change in our society and culture. Our sons will no longer be connected to their true identity,” he claimed.
As for what motivated him to propose this law, MP Abdel-Aziz explained that Western names such as ‘Lara’, Mark’ or ‘Sam’ are difficult to pronounce for other Arabs.
The draft law has caused massive outrage among social media users who have expressed their condemnation, citing it as a trivial matter that the Parliament should not discuss.