Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid

The most popular name in Nigeria for a baby boy is Osama. Be afraid.

*According to In Praise of Ideology by Lord Saatchi, published by the CPS

UPDATE: This post has caused a number of outraged comments accusing me of all sorts of things, not least making it up and of being a bigot. Click HERE and make up your own minds if I have made it up.

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lord Saatchi is very disconnected from reality. Anyone who went through the 2005 campaign (which he was 'pollster' and 'guru' for, at a cost of £2m) or ever read 'Poor People Stop Paying Tax' knows that.

He's batty

Anonymous said...

He likes Cameron, but dislikes the strategy?

This is obviously not because he and Steve Hilton (his ex-protege who never talks to him) have fallen out at all...

Anonymous said...

Dear Friend,

Your name has been passed on by a friend who said you are a trust worthy person. I hope you don't mind my writing to you. My Father is held up in Northern Pakistan and can't make any withdrawals from his large fortune. However I wondered if I could use your bank account and eight thousand pounds seed money to get the money roiling. As a thank you for your good will I will send you 50% of all the money transferred.

Please treat this in strictest confidence, your new found friend,

Osma (jnr).

Anonymous said...

And it's reported that the most popular boy's name in Belgium, Rotterdam and Malmo is Mohammad.

Be even more afraid....

Anonymous said...

You sure he doesn't mean 'Osma' - after the plumbing and drainage fittings?

Anonymous said...

Lots of boys in the UK have the names 'George' and 'Tony'.

Some have even been saddled with the name 'Arsenal'.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...


What's your point ??

Anonymous said...

It's deja vu all over again - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1741171.stm

Anonymous said...

Iain, This is really old news.

Instead of worrying about "threats" like this, we ought to be more confident in this country's abilities to stand up to "terror".

In the late 1960's, there was the "I'm backing Britain Campaign". Perhaps you and I should start something similar.

Anonymous said...

It's a muslim name. Many kids are called Jack these days. No doubt down Lagos way they're all worried about the Brits turning into Rippers.

Saatchi's an advertising genius. He's already got Iain Dale to publicise his book for free here...

Anonymous said...

My wife said to me the other day , you know I think Cameron`s going to blow it . She has never ,ever been wrong.
He has got open goal fever he is paralysed with fear about offending anyone and now seems weak and ineffectual. Lets hope he gets over it but he must have better support

Anonymous said...

So what the hell is that supposed to mean. I an Dale... a typical bigoted, ignorant excuse for a human...

Emdad Rahman

Robert McIlveen said...

Osama is quite a common muslim name... If MArtin or Gerry were the most popular Irish names I wouldn't worry much about it!

Iain Dale said...

Emdad Rahman, I think it is quite obvious. As I understand it the popularity of this name has only been evident since 2001. Deeply worrying, in my view. Feel free to educate me otherwise.

Anonymous said...

'We have nothing to fear but fear itself.' Now who was it that said that ? No one very important or influential surely..

Anonymous said...

'Freakonomics', whilst being a fairly average literary work, does contain some interesting insights into the popularity of names.

Not least how people detect the background of others from their names. It cites American research and inevitably rappers names are now featuring heavily among kids' names.

But British names are often very class-centric. Who ever heard of a working class Oscar or Chloe ?

Anonymous said...

"'We have nothing to fear but fear itself.' Now who was it that said that ? No one very important or influential surely.."

A man who stirred up hatred against what he called "economic royalists".

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 9:46 - That was said when Anglophone nations were robust and confident. Before Tony Blair began to beat British citizens around the head and shoulders for having thoughts he doesn't approve of. After all, he has his future foundation in Saudi Arabia to think about. Him and Bill and Jimmuh. A perfect Triathalon of inadequate, ineffective, one-worlder lefties.

Emdad Rahman - We don't like immigrants with alien belief systems naming their children after terrorists and putting little headbands on children in pushchairs that read "I [heart] al Queda". For all our British sense of humour, we fail to see the joke. We don't like your uppity attitude and we don't like your bad manners.

Understand? Shukria.

Anonymous said...

Is it just me or is the latest assasination in Lebanon most obvioulsly by the US secret service: Means, motive and benefit.

Manfarang said...

How does Saatchi know? I doubt it very much.The northern part of Nigeria is Muslim.Many Nigerians are Christians so Osama is a name they won't be giving their children.
Talking of names,Saatchi doesn't sound very English,does it?

Anonymous said...

tax exile - I'm sure that just makes Iain sick. What was the name of your little blog again?

Serf said...

Be afraid, lock up your doors, turn off the short wave radio, turn away from your neighbours, and become a right proper bigot.

Iain is afraid because people name their children after a terrorist, and that makes him a bigot.

Thanks for keeping us up to date with the rules, its all so confusing you know.

Anonymous said...

The popular name in Keighley, Est Yorkshire is Osama...............no doubt once William Hague has rebuilt Tory fortunes in Leeds and Bradford the name Osama will be universal in the district

Sceptical Steve said...

Anonymous 12.20 exhibits all the characteristics of the conspiracy theorist freshly arrived home from the pub.

A more satisfying theory would be that the Syrians are celebrating the free hand given to them by Bush and Blair in return for their attempts to get us out of the doodah in Iraq.

Anonymous said...

I found this funny - I wondered if they were giving lessons on how to do it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3827223.stm

Anonymous said...

You hideous small-minded bigot. How dare you draw attention to the fact that some people from a much-loved minority are naming their child after a mass-murdering lunaic terrorist who would like to destroy the society we live in?

I am removing you from my blogroll immediately, you crazy man. Didn't you get the memo? Racism is only a problem when it's whites against non-whites. Racism of certian Muslims against the whole of western society is not a priority: we are too busy fighting the danger of the BNP! Quick, let's make another BBC documentary and then change the law so that Nick Griffin can be locked up. Never mind those exploding planes + tube trains, the white Nazis are the only ones we should worry about.

I agree with Tax Exile. It's quite clear that suggesting that any aspect of foreign culture is perhaps undesirable makes you an evil racist, and you should probably be prosecuted under at least a dozen New Labour thought crime laws. In fact, blow that, we need a new law, to cope with the unique threat people like you pose.

Anonymous said...

Well of course it's a Muslim name but one would imagine that if a name, no matter how popular, became associated with mass murder, calls for holy war etc etc, then right-thinking people might think twice before choosing it for their children.

Imagine if Adolf was a popular name in Germany post 1945.

Anonymous said...

Come on guys, if any name which was associated with a reactionary became taboo, what would that mean for people who already had that name? You are going to suggest the 'guilt by association' argument next. And if we start removing names from the pool just because a criminal has that name, we would end up with no names to choose from. And that would mean we would all have to have unique numbers....Now there's a thought.

neil craig said...

The earliest thing in politics about which I ever felt deeply was the role of the British govenment in the destruction of Biafra & the killing of 2.5 million people.

We deliberately kept them under the thumb of an alien Moslem society becuase while the Ibos had all the oil we had oil contracts with the central government.

I think you will find Osama is not a popular name in the Christian Ibo area but then the opinions of enslaved peoples don't count.

Anonymous said...

I am from Nigeria, and I can assure you that whoever made that statement about Osama being the most popular name in Nigeria is delusional.

Christ! Some people don't even bother doing any research before jumping to conclusions.

FYI, Nigeria is almost evenly split with a Muslim North, and a Christian South. The most populat name in the North by any stretch of the imagination is Mohammed, with Ibrahim a distant second, then Suleiman, then Abubakar. Fifth is Usman. Osama doesn;t even figure in the top 10. Bloody media just seize on something and people latch onto it without bothering to find out the facts.

Ignorance is not an excuse.

Anonymous said...

Never mind naming boys after Osama / Oussama, check this out:

http://www.oussama.cc/ENindex1.html

Paris - New York - Kandahar indeed.

The great smell of Brute?

Anonymous said...

Some people call him 'Maurice', some call him the 'Gangster of Love'..

Anonymous said...

My wife said to me the other day , you know I think Cameron`s going to blow it . She has never ,ever been wrong.

Like I've said before, the next Tory PM will be William Hague.

Anonymous said...

Imagine if Adolf was a popular name in Germany post 1945.

Is Adolf is German version of Anthony?

It would explain alot!

Anonymous said...

chxta is the only sensible person on this blog. But research? Who does that anymore? Let's just blog, its much easier. chxta is a pretty good name though.

Mr Osato said...

For some reason I read it as 'Obama' - which left me wondering what was so threatening about the Democrats' rising star or how, exactly, he had won such a high profile in Africa

Anonymous said...

Serf said: "Iain is afraid because people name their children after a terrorist, and that makes him a bigot."

Thank you for being the first person to admit in public that mohammed was a terrorist. It is true.

Anonymous 3:03 pm - Funny!

Anonymous said...

Iain it's the first time I am really critical of one of your postings. Felt like swearing. Noted the comment from Emdad Rahman who seems to be hopping mad as well.

Whoever started that story is just talking off head. It's paranoia to the extreme.

Nigeria is a huge country. Osama is a very common Muslim name. It's true that it has become more fashionable amongst some of the fundamental muslims in the north of the country probably because of the man continually being mentioned in the muslim media.

It's not because they are particularly supporting his ideal or even that they know much about what has been going on or why. By word of mouth he is in general considered doing everything in the name of Allah and the religion which is paramount and for that he is a hero in some sectors.

It is the same way names become fashionable here. My younger son, I gave him the English name Jason after Jason King from the TV and Sule after his father. So he is Jason Sule Lamido. He's used both names all his life depending on the situation.

As for bt mentioning the name Mohammed. It has always been the most popular muslim name. It's the name of the prophet. In many muslim families especially from Africa & Middle East one son in the family is usually called Mohammed. There are several written forms of the name.

With the influx of Muslims to Europe it is hardly surprising the name is now becoming number one. Have to admit my elder son Marcus has the muslim name Mohammed.

So to write, Be even more afraid.... is dangerous talk and just words for the sake of making waves.

Anonymous said...

I travelled through Syria with my family when I was ten years old in 1994. Before setting up a tent in a field, my father went to ask the permission of the farmer. He told us that we mustn't stay in the field, and that instead we must stay in his house. A massive feast was prepared for my parents, my two sisters and I, and we sat and ate with the farmer and his entire extended family. His youngest son, we discovered, desperately wanted a toy model Massey Ferguson tractor. What was his name? Osama.

Anonymous said...

I am a big fan of Ian Dale, but I do believe this German speaking toff is off his rocker.

Ian, you didn't quite cut it in politics so you repackage yourself as a commentator and adopt the Jack straw blueprint to political success. The easiest way is to tarnish a quarter of the worlds population. If a quarter of the world's population were renegade, we'd have a real problem eh??? We'd really need to "Be Afraid" then, myself included as I'd be labelled a hypocrite for being moderate...

Usama used to be a very popular name, a beautiful one at that (Meaning lion). If you did your research you'd see and mention how many Muslims refrain from naming their sons as such due to the stigma attached to it.

You may have got loads of hits on your list but your John Gaunt attitude has ensured that you have totally lost my respect, however insignificant that may be.

Verity speaks for you all when he calls me an immigrant with alien beliefs. I can proudly say that as a Union Jack clad, bearded, traditionally dressed Muslim I contribute more for the welfare of British society than the likes of self serving Iain Dale. My Father and many like him were invited to the UK to do the menial jobs that neded filling. He worked hard, paid his dues, educated us, and we are doing the same. We're just like you, red blood, different shade of skin and all that and not the subhumans that we have become.

Ignoramus like yourself and those with comments as above need to go out more.

I also notice that you have comment moderation. Why Ian?

The interesting point is I speak out and I'm militant. I stay quiet and I'm a collaborator. You want a debate Iain, I will gladly give you one, and I never attended college or Uni. I will though wipe the floor with you because you and your like have no solid footing.

PS: The most popular name in the world is Muhammad. Any comments?

Emdad

Anonymous said...

hang on a minute people - Osama is an Arabic name. Nigeria is an African country.

its quite obvious whats going on here - lots of Nigerians think Osama Bin Laden is OK, so they are naming their kids after him.

Why shouldnt Iain point it out?

Ross said...

For the benefit of everyone denouncing Iain as a crazed bigot this explains the Osama naming craze that occurred in Northern Nigeria after 9/11- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1741171.stm

So it did happen and it was in response to the actions of Osama Bin Laden.

Anonymous said...

Yes, Susanne, we know all that - well not that you named your child after a TV show - but we know the islamic bit. As in, that was the point of Iain's post. We know they all call their kids after their religious ikon.

Emdad, dear, we have some issues.

First, Osama may be a beautiful name in your language, but in my language, it means "arsehole of slug".

And speaking of names, our courteous and kindly host is called Iain. Not Ian.

Iain, spelled thusly, has comment moderation for the same reason your tent has a flap. He wants to decide who is allowed in. Surely your camel can understand that?

This is a hoot: The interesting point is I speak out and I'm militant. Why is this interesting? I stay quiet, and I'm a collaborator. No. You're scared of your ignorant imams - although, to be fair, you may be one yourself.

I contribute more for the welfare of British society than the likes of self serving Iain Dale. You're not self-serving? Verity still says you're an immigrant with alien beliefs - beliefs which are alien to this land of tolerance and Christianity that we have fought for and preserved for centuries.

PS: The most popular name in the world is Muhammad. Any comments? Yes, actually. The world is full of followers. Especially among cults that do not promote the growth of the personal individuality which leads people to think in new and different ways and invent things.

No wonder that 5m brain-washed boys called mohammed are looking for a way to express themselves!

Next time, try Kevin.

Anonymous said...

Verity! You really did good there. you tell them darn Muslins where to go.

neil craig said...

I think it is clear that there is a major increase in the use of the name Osama in northern Nigeria & probably elsewhere in the Moslem world & that is a proper reason for concern, but that it is a very considerable exageration to say that it has become the most common name & that is a reason for level-headedness.

Damn I sound like a moderate.

Anonymous said...

My word Verity, you seem to be very full of hatred and bile for no other reason other than you are a bigot and proud of it. Well done.

Quick question, hard childhood, no mates?

Anonymous said...

PS. Iain - I hope you feel foolish to have stooped so low

Anonymous said...

giveverityacuddle - Wonderful childhood, thanks. Happy.

Along with Bruce Bawer, Melanie Phillips, the Dissident Frogman and Fjordman, I see only too clearly what the islamics are up to in Europe, and it is those ethnocentrics among you, who think the whole world thinks with an advanced Western mind, who will facilitate their ambitions.

And the British government is working against the British people in this. This is probably the first time in human history that the Fifth Column has actually been the government.

Anonymous said...

Muslims are the new "niggers". the Brit psyche consists of a flaw...one of pointing the finger when things go wrong. Look beyond your prejudices and you may see a different picture.

Emdad Rahman is a Muslim who recently ran a half marathon to fund a childrens Xmas party. Terrible those Muslims aren't they?