China: Islamic Names Banned In Xinjiang Region

In its effort to restrict the influence of religion on life in the ethnic Uighur minority heartland, authorities in western China are placing a ban on Islamic names. Parents are prohibited from naming their children Islamic names, Fox News reports.

According to a list distributed by Uighur activists overseas, names such as "Muhammad", "Jihad" and "Islam" are among theseveral Islamic names now banned in the heavily Muslim region. 

If a parent chooses one of the barred names for a child, the child would be excluded from government benefits.

The restrictions on naming are part of government effort to secularize Xinjiang, home to  about 10 million Uighurs, a Turkic people who mostly follow Sunni Islam.