A French couple have named their baby after an Islamic terrorist who murdered four Jews at a school in Toulouse in 2012. Now, prosecutors in Nice are trying to find legal ways to change the baby’s name.
The boy was named by his parents as Mohammed Nizar Merah, after ISIS terrorist, Mohammed Merah. The name has now been listed by city officials after they were unable to contest the name on legal grounds.
Mayor Christian Estrosi, however, is contesting this decision and says that the name should not be allowed for several reasons. The first is that there are regulations that prohibit names deemed as “detrimental to the interests of the infant”. The mayor is also arguing that the name encourages violence and terrorism.
The act of naming the baby after Merah “is an attack on our values and republic,” he said.
The jihadist Mohammed Merah in March 2012 shot dead Rabbi Jonathan Sandler and his two young sons, Arieh and Gavriel, as well as 8-year-old Miriam Monsonego, at the Otzar Hatorah Jewish school before fleeing on a motorcycle. Days before the shooting, Merah had killed three French soldiers. He was shot dead by police at his hiding place two days after the school massacre.
Let us pray that Mayor Estrosi is successful in reversing this decision.
