Like most of you, my wife and I wanted to name our children in a meaningful way. We went to a book titled Beyond Jennifer and Jason and researched names to see what they meant. We also used our knowledge of the Bible so that we could give our children Christian names. In the end, we gave each child a biblical name (to connect him with our rich Christian heritage) and a family name (to identify him as part of our family history). In America, we take such liberty for granted.

In Azerbaijan, the freedom of naming your child cannot be taken for granted. According to Compass Direct News, Novruz Eyvazov has been trying to get a birth certificate for his son since the child was born June 21^st. The problem is that Azerbaijan is 96% Muslim. Christian names are not allowed, or at least not condoned. The government is suspicious that Christians are treasonous against the nation because they will not yield to Islam. Thus, they will not recognize Christian names.

In Iran, the situation is worse. When Issa Motamedi Moidehi attempted to register his son’s birth with the authorities, he was arrested on false charges of drug trafficking. He was told at the time of his arrest that he must renounce Christianity or face years of jail time and even execution. Execution might be in order because of Islamic law that says anyone who leaves Islam for another religion is guilty of a capital offense. Issa, for attempting to register his child with a Christian name, is now in prison in Iran.

In America, because our nation was built explicitly on a Christian foundation, we can take for granted little pleasures like choosing what to name our children. This little freedom—and a million others like it—is not available in many non-Christian countries, whether those non-Christian countries are religious in nature (following Islam or Hinduism, etc), or whether those nations are non-religious (socialism, communism, etc). The gospel of Jesus Christ and the God of the Bible offer the clearest teachings on man’s freedom and responsibilities. When we abandon this Christian heritage, we will find ourselves asking government authorities to give us names for our children.

To read more about Issa’s case, visit http://www.prisoneralert.com/pprofiles/vp_prisoner_166_profile.html, where you can even write him an encouraging letter in his own language. If you want to read more about Novruz’ case, visit http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&lang=en&length=long&idelement=4553 , where you can also see a picture of his little baby boy. If you want your children to have the freedom to name your grandchildren, you might get more serious about Christianity and about the moral fabric of our culture.