The preparatory committee of the Imam Hussein Holy Shrine seeks to rename Babel (Babylon), Iraq to Imam Hassan City, according to Middle East Eye. But not if Iraqis on Twitter have anything to say about it.
Middle East Eye reported that the Arabic-language hashtag ‘my_name_is_Babel’ began trending on Twitter after Sunday’s announcement. The committee soon denied being behind the initiative. That did not stop Iraqis from voicing their concerns, however. The outrage came in Arabic and English.
Hussein and Abbas org attempts to change Babylon name to Hasan's (a shia priest) city!!
— Huaida (@HuaidaYn) June 21, 2016
Shmee Babil#اسمي_بابل pic.twitter.com/7xah8w8aqK
Middle East Eye notes that a diverse set of Iraqi activists and intellectuals took part in the social media campaign to keep the name.
As of Thursday, the hashtag was still trending on Twitter.
The Babel governorate sits in central Iraq, and has over 1.5 million inhabitants. It is named after Babylon, one of the most important cities in ancient Mesopotamia. The region is thus an important part of Iraq’s cultural heritage.
AL
