Lost in Translation
I couldn’t believe my eyes as I read this article about the “Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” of Saudi Arabia. According to the article, a man was trying to trademark the name of a business he wanted to create that had the English word “explorer” in it. This came into question because the “x” in explorer too closely resembled a “cross”, a symbol of the pagans and infidels.
His request was denied. Instead of appealing, he “invited the commission to expand its edict to the “plus” sign in mathematics and accounting, in order “to prevent filthy Christian conspiracies from infiltrating our thoughts, our beliefs, and our feelings.”
Maybe I should drop the “C” from my name because it is so similar to the “crescent” shape that is identifiable with the Islamic faith. This is crazy.
And so many of my friends wonder why I am such a firm supporter of the separation of church and state.
UPDATE - after getting home, I decided to see if I could do some research to see if The Sun was making this up or not. While I can’t find anything corroborating this story, the first story I found about this Saudi “Commision” was even more shocking (to me) and it was reported on by the BBC, so it is legit.
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