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Brits Put Mohammed First
Here's one to think about for Britain Day: Muhammad, or variations on the name, is likely to be the most popular name for baby boys in Britain next year. According to a report, the name of Islam's prophet is already the second most popular for British newborns.
The Times reports that the official register, compiled by the Office of National Statistics, puts Muhammad at number 23. However, an analysis of the top 3000 names shows that if you count all 14 variations of the name as one, Muhammad is beaten only by Jack as the most popular name in Britain in 2006. 5,991 boys were given the name, or a variation of the spelling, compared to 6,928 new Jacks, 5,921 new Thomases and 5,808 new Joshuas.
If Muhammad continues to rise in popularity (it rose 13 percent last year), then it is expected to become the single most popular name for boys born in Britain in 2008.
A slight consolation for Brits worried about traditional names dropping is that the fashion for giving children shorter or variants of English names may mask the popularity of the "root" of the name. Harry is a popular name, but added with Henry it might be more popular still. Jack used to be version of John, Jamie of James, Charlie of Charles and Joe of Joseph.
Now these names are counted separately, at least by the UK's National Statistic Office. That Muhammad is close to being Britain's most popular boy's name is certainly an indication of how the country has changed, but it would be interesting to see how the charts looked once all variations of traditional names are included.
Also in the news today is a report that a barrister who said that Muslim judges should never wear the veil in court has been accused of sharing views with the far right British National Party.
Last year, the Judicial Studies Board appeared to contemplate the possibility that Muslim females should be allowed to veil themselves. Writing in the Bar Council's magazine, Barbara Hewson argued that she found the advice "astonishing and subversive."
"The United Kingdom is not a sharia state", she wrote.
A fellow barrister reacted angrily. Noting that she herself was no fan of the niqab, Fatim Kurji said that nevertheless, to speak about Britain and sharia in such a way was to use a "BNP argument."
"It implies a woman who wears a niqab comes at the erosion of British values. Such an astonishingly offensive remark undermines the long-enduring libertarian values", she wrote in a reply.
