COLOGNE,
Germany, Sept 5 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A Turkish couple
has been refused permission to name their baby Osama bin Laden because
of the associations the name has with the world’s most wanted man,
Osama bin Laden, according to a German court Thursday, September
05, 2002.
The Cologne lower district court is reviewing a registrar's office
decision to refuse the couple's request because Bin Laden is hunted
for (allegedly masterminding) the September 11 attacks, noting that
the name is also not permitted in Turkey, reported Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
The court asked the couple, who still call the two-month-old child
Osama, a common name in the Muslim world, for an explanation for their
choice of name.
If the court then decides to refuse permission, the parents may still
appeal to a higher court.
For
their part, Osama’s parents insisted on the name they have chosen
for their baby, wondering; “what’s in a name? It’s just a
name.”
