Yup. It appears that some Arabs are now naming their children after Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in wake of Friday’s failed coup attempt against him. Defecting soldiers bombed parliament, a coastal resort Erdogan was staying at, and even took over the headquarters of CNN Turk before being defeated by pro-Erdogan security forces and protesters that night.
Erdogan is now cracking down on the coup participants, but that’s all good in the eyes of one Palestinian family in Hebron, who named their child Osama Tayyip Erdogan, according to the Palestine Info Center. The tweet, brought to the attention of English speakers via famed journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, demonstrates how popular Erdogan is in the Arab world.
And baby Osama Tayyip Erdogan is not an isolated case. Al Madenah news reported that a Jordanian family named their son Ragheb Tayyip-a more Arabized version of the name-after the president.
Erdogan is popular in the Arab world for a variety of reasons, including his support for Syrian rebel groups, perceived strong Islamic values and criticism of Israel.
AL
