What’s in a Name? Jihad!

This news story from Spiegel TV is not recent, but still relevant. Watch the culturally enriched subject of the report punch the camera during an attempted interview.

The occasion for the German news feature was the government’s granting of permission to the mujahid Reda Seyam to name his son “Jihad”.

And why not? Jihad is what Pop and Junior will engage in together as a father-son bonding activity — the name is simply an apt descriptor.

Many thanks to Tim of PI for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:


There’s more at Vlad.

A full transcript is below the jump:

00:00		Reda Seyam, Egypt-born, radical Islamist,
00:04		German citizen since 1993
00:08		Is more a man of action than of words.
00:14		The 49-year-old has been monitored for years by Constitutional Defense.
00:20		Seyam is seen as one of the most dangerous activists in Germany's Islamist scene.
00:24		In previous weeks, the Munich district attorney raised a charge
00:28		against the alleged holy warrior with a German passport.
00:31		The accusation: Forming a criminal association and sedition.
00:35		He allegedly radicalized young German Islam converts in seminars
00:40		and had them swear to Jihad, the holy war.
00:43		Also, he now wants to call his 4-year-old son Jihad.
00:46		The relevant authorities in Berlin wouldn't allow it.
00:50		Seyam sued through the appeals courts and won.
00:53		After three and a half years, the appeals court has decided
00:56		that children can also be named "Jihad" in Germany. The basis:
00:59		The name happens to be a common Arabic name.
01:03		The court had to go back and forth between the right of parents
01:08		to choose a name for the child and the well-being of the child himself.
01:12		And it came out that the well-being of the child
01:15		is not negatively affected by the choice of the name,
01:18		simply because it is only one of many possible meanings for the name,
01:22		and because this must be viewed from a longer term.
01:26		And the decision on the issue cannot be made
01:29		on the basis of the currently relevant debate in Germany.
01:32		In addition, the court cannot judge the motives of the parents in name-giving,
01:36		and thus take that into account. A scandal, as many see it.
01:40		By the way, Seyam will not have to pay the court costs.
01:43		He won the case as a recipient of social aid, thus the taxpayers will bear the costs.
01:49		Seyam is the object of focus by the security authorities.
01:52		In 2002, he stayed in Indonesia..
01:55		He allegedly took part in the preparation for the Bali attacks there.
01:59		202 people died in the attack in October 2002.
02:04		However, no proof of his participation could be produced.
02:07		Seyam is suspected of having transferred money to the attackers.
02:12		He was arrested while still in Indonesia.
02:15		Detective Michael von Wedel of the Federal Criminal Agency also interrogated Seyam
02:20		in a prison shortly after the attack.
02:23		He sat there before a mountain of newspapers with the images of the Bali attacks
02:28		and looked impishly happy. He beamed over the success of this attack.
02:36		After a short incarceration, Reda Seyam was deported to Germany as a free man.
02:42		What did you plan in the Bali attack?
02:45		We'll talk about that later. Mann: Um-hmm. What all did you do in Indonesia?
02:50		The Criminal Bureau knows well, and all the newspapers, magazines and media know what when on with me.
02:56		Yes, and what do you have to say to these accusations that are in them?
03:00		Accusations that you allegedly financed people, uh, Islamic leaders in Indonesia?
03:04		I ascribe everything to [being] from the Social Services Bureau. You can understand that financially, right?
03:09		Meanwhile, Seyam lives in Berlin.
03:12		Thanks to his seven children, he gets €2,300 welfare support monthly
03:16		from a country whose peaceful and democratic rule of law he despises.