China: Govt bans 'overly religious' Muslim names in Xinjiang - report

26.4.17

China: Govt bans 'overly religious' Muslim names in Xinjiang - report: [asiancorrespondent.com] The ban, according to sources in southern Xinjiang who detailed a list of banned names in 2015, told RFA the new ruling has been enforced region-wide.

An unnamed official from a police station in Urumi, the regional capital, confirmed “overly religious” names have been banned. Babies with banned names, the official said, would not be allowed to be registered under the government system for healthcare and education, known as the “hukou” system.

“You’re not allowed to give names with a strong religious flavor, such as Jihad or names like that,” the official was quoted as saying. “The most important thing here is the connotations of the name … [it mustn’t have] connotations of holy war or of splittism [Xinjiang independence].”