Bill Maher Doesn't Want Boys to Be Named Mohammed

If you have plans to name your future son Mohammad, political talk show host Bill Maher has a problem with that. On the Fri., Oct. 29, episode of "Real Time With Bill Maher," Bill Maher pointed out that the name Mohammed* is in the top five for British baby names.

"Am I a racist to feel I'm alarmed by that because I am," Maher asked his panel. "And it's not because of the race. It's because of the religion. I don't have to apologize, do I, for not wanting the western world to be taken over by Islam?"

This comment came right after he showed an entire clip collection of Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell spouting off her usual strange comments, everything from condoms don't work to her take on Halloween.

There are times when I think Maher has it right. Then there are times when I want to scream "You can't be serious!" at my television screen.

However, I'm glad he asked that question with National Review's Reihan Salam on the show. While Salam seemed like his head was about to boil through the first part of the show, he was reasonably calm when he stated, "I have some uncles named Mohammad, and I think they're pretty decent guys."

While comedian Zack Galifianakis, who felt the need to light a blunt and inhale while on the panel, was fairly quiet on this issue, Republican political strategist Margaret Hoover and MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell wouldn't jump on the bandwagon. Hoover said there were more important things to worry about in the U.K., and O'Donnell stated Maher's comment was "way worse than what Juan (Williams) said."

Here's why I'm not alarmed by a name. It's just a name. No one's personality is created from a name. The Virgin Mary and Mary J. Blige are two different people. Isaiah Washington is nothing like Isaiah. Benjamin Geza Affleck doesn't seem to have much in common with the three Benjamins in the Bible. Matthew McConaughey isn't copying off of the other Matthew. These are all religious names that didn't make these people a replica of the reputation of the people, spirits or beliefs.

And if we really want to target the name Muhammad, let's go for heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali who refused to participate in the Vietnam War. If someone's name makes you that uncomfortable without knowing the person, that's profiling. Not cool. Don't judge a person by the reputation of his or her name. Who knows? You may find out that you respect the predecessor's name, too.

I honestly think that sometimes Maher goes backwards. Sometimes he seems so open-minded about politics, but when it comes to religion there are always all of these firm views. What I don't get is why he claims to be agnostic instead of atheist. If you say you don't know, then don't know. Be a skeptic. I get it. I'm agnostic, too. But I'm not afraid of someone with a biblical name. While I sometimes avoid the topic of religion to avoid the arguing, I don't insult another person's religion or grow uncomfortable around people with "alarming" names.

On Juneteenth 2010, I attended a free hip-hop concert hosted by Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) featuring Mos Def, who is Muslim. In 28 years, it was by far the most peaceful concert I'd ever been to. As a 7-year-entertainment journalist and reviewer, I'd seen plenty of people with non-biblical names go to blows. I've run out of parties and clubs, especially music events, when people started acting like they had no home training. Names don't bother me. Instead of worrying about a name, I'm more concerned with the personality behind the name.

*Spelling may vary as Mohammad, Muhammad, Mohammed or Mohammed.