BERLIN, March 1 (RIA Novosti) - A Berlin court has ruled that it is legitimate for a child to be named Jihad, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported Thursday.
When local authorities refused to register a child born to a 47-year old Berlin resident of Egyptian descent as Jihad, which means Holy War in Arabic but is a common male name in the Muslim world, the boy's father appealed to a landtag [state] court, which overturned the decision.
The incident has stirred public controversy in the German capital, with many people seeing the court ruling as a challenge to public opinion and criticizing the judges for their shortsightedness.
The Berlin City Police Department said it is going to appeal the ruling in the interest of the child himself.
