Allah al Akhbar

**NET** · 15th August 2012 06:13

Mohammed retakes top spot in English baby names

By Richard Allen Greene, CNN
Mohammed reclaimed its place as the most popular name for baby boys born in England and Wales in 2011 - convincingly ahead of Harry, in second place, according to data released by the government this week.
The government declared that Harry was the most popular boy's name, but if you add up the five most popular different spellings of Mohammed, that name comes top.
Mohammed is also the most popular boy's name of the past five years for England and Wales, ahead of Oliver and Jack. It came first or second every year since 2007, the only name to do so.
And it could become even more popular in 2012, given the adulation around long-distance runner Mo Farah, who won two gold medals for Britain at the Olympics.

The popularity of the name comes as Britain's Muslim population is expected to double in the next 20 years.
The country, which was about 2% Muslim in 1990, grew to 4.6% Muslim in 2010, with nearly 2.9 million followers of the faith, according to analysis by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
By 2030, the United Kingdom will be just over 8% Muslim, with more than 5.5 million adherents, the Washington-based think tank projected in a 2011 report, "The Future of the Global Muslim Population."
Mohammed first became the most popular boy's name in England in 2009, then was knocked back into second place the next year as Oliver enjoyed a huge surge in popularity.
Harry, the name of Prince William's younger brother and J.K. Rowling's boy wizard, leaped into second place in 2011, with 7,523 boys given the moniker, topping the 7,007 Olivers.
But the name of the Muslim prophet was given to 7,907 baby boys, according to CNN analysis of Office of National Statistics data. Mohammed, Muhammad and Mohammad were all among the top 100 most popular names, with Muhammed and Mohamed also coming in the top 200.
A total of 37,564 babies have been given a variation of the name in the past five years. Some 36,653 Olivers and 36,581 Jacks were born in England and Wales since 2007. The British government keeps separate statistics for Scotland and for Northern Ireland, the other two nations that make up the United Kingdom.
The 2011 British census had an optional question about religion. Results are expected in November.
At least four different spellings of the name Mohammed are among the 1,000 most popular American boys' names in 2011, according to the Social Security Administration.
Mohamed is the top, in 428th place, with Muhammad in 480th, Mohammed in 562nd and Mohammad in 609th.
The United States is about 0.8% Muslim, with about 2.6 million adherents, the Pew Forum calculates.

**tomcat** · 15th August 2012 06:19

...Allahu akbar...ya hammar...

**Papa** · 15th August 2012 06:57

Pardon a digression but this just released survey of Islamic beliefs should prove interesting and enlightening.

"Recent results of the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life multi-year survey of beliefs and practices by the world’s Muslims that were published 8 August 2012 are remarkable in a number of respects. First of all, the broad scope of the project—based on 38,000 face-to-face interviews conducted with Muslims in 39 different countries and territories—ensured a wide range of opinions from a diverse sampling of Muslim communities.

The results, however, show a high level of agreement about one of the most debated issues concerning Islam: Whether Muslims believe Islamic teaching is subject to various “interpretations” or only one. As Islamic teaching is derived from the Qur’an, the Sira, and the ahadith (which together are the main sources for Sharia, or Islamic law), in essence this was a question about Muslim beliefs about the fundamentals of their faith.

According to the Pew survey results, a majority (more than 50%) of Muslims in 32 of 39 countries believes that “There is only one true way to interpret the teachings of my religion.”

Pew Research Institute Releases Telling Survey of World's Muslims | #1 News Site on the Threat of Radical Islam

The results could be said to support those who hold the position that there is no such thing as the moderate Muslim. Muslims are either jihadists or dormant jihadists – moderate, they are not.

**Thinkingofachange** · 15th August 2012 06:59

Originally Posted by Papa

a majority (more than 50%) of Muslims in 32 of 39 countries believes that “There is only one true way to interpret the teachings of my religion.”

Wouldn't you expect the same results from Christians or people of any other faith? The idea of a religion is usually that it's correct and the others aren't (at least not to the same extent).

**tomcat** · 15th August 2012 07:27

Originally Posted by Papa

there is no such thing as the moderate Muslim

...more poop from an extremist: Shi'as believe that only their interpretation of Islam is correct, Sunnis feel the same way, as do Ahmadis, Alawis, and other Muslim groups...there exists no universal Muslim interpretation of Islam nor even widespread agreement on the nature of Jihad...