'Saddam' proves popular name among Thai Muslims

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, December 20, 2003

'Saddam' proves popular name among Thai Muslims

"Saddam" had become a popular namearound Muslim communities in southern Thailand for the ex-Iraqi president's firm stance against invaders, the state-run Thai News Agency (TNA) reported on Saturday.

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"Saddam" had become a popular namearound Muslim communities in southern Thailand for the ex-Iraqi president's firm stance against invaders, the state-run Thai News Agency (TNA) reported on Saturday.

"A whole generation of little 'Saddams' is growing up in Thailand's southern border region, with the name now being one of the most popular for Thai Muslim boys," said the report.

Muslims in southern Thailand often named their baby boys afterimportant Islamic leaders and remarkable figures in Muslim history,TNA quoted the Deputy President of the Yala Provincial Islamic Committee Nimoo Makaje as saying.

The names were often Arabic ones, Nimoo said.

He noted that the name "Saddam" had noticeably grown in popularity since the invasion of Iraq by the United States early this year.

Nimoo owned the growing popularity of the name to its meaning of clashing or confronting.

Besides, he stressed that parents liked the name partly becausethey admired the former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's stance.

However, Nimoo pointed out that by naming their sons "Saddam," Thai Muslim parents do not necessarily want their little boys to act like the former leader of Iraq.

He didn't reveal the specific number and growing percentage of the adoption of the name.

The five southernmost provinces including Yala was home to Thailand's most Muslim population, which was some 5 percent of thetotal population.

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