They Should Have Named Him Sue

A German court affirmed two lower courts in finding that a family had the right to name their son Djehad.

German authorities who register births had objected to the name, saying it could be harmful for the child given the associations with Islamic terrorism.

But the court said in a ruling Tuesday that the name's meaning is rooted in the requirement to spread the Muslim faith, although it has recently become linked - especially since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks - with radical Islam.

German law restricts parents from giving their children names that could be interpreted as harmful.

German law, and European law, is littered with restrictions such as this to prevent against hate speech, Nazi propaganda, and the like, and yet the court upheld the ruling allowing the parents to name their son after the jihad, which is their sworn obligation to spread Islam. Also, bear in mind that several of the 9/11 hijackers and other members of al Qaeda lived in Hamburg, Germany prior to coming to the US.

Still, they would have been better off naming the kid Sue.