Some fanatic is always going to get on your case about something. I really don’t think you have to change it. Actually, your sn makes me think of a character in a play I worked on called Children of Eden. The play was set in the Genesis part of the bible, but wasn’t really about religion at all. Just used the characters. Just made me think of that. But no, you don’t have to change your screen name.
I have no idea whether the name is actually sacred to Muslims or not, but it seems a little overboard to suggest that no one can use a name once someone, somewhere has decided it is sacred to them.
And I just discovered the other day that Ayesha is the name of the eponymous “She” in the Rider Haggard novel. (Right?)
For Christians (myself included) the name Jesus is certainly important, but Jesus is a fairly common name among Spanish-speaking people. Am I offended? No. Are there ways people can use the name Jesus that offend me? Yes, but that’s not one of them. Elton John (well, Bernie Taupin) uses the name to make a point in “Rocket Man”: “He calls his child Jesus. Says he likes the name.”
Our own Satan uses a name that has a certain shock value, but, again, he’s not offensive about it. And then there’s that hockey player…
Are names important? Are there sacred names? For me, the answer is certainly yes, but I still have to consider the context. Sometimes a sacred name is just a collection of syllables. Sometimes it’s not.
In this case, my vote is to keep your name, Ayesha. But now you know something you didn’t know. That’s usually a good thing.
No, don’t change your screen name because of one ignorant bugger. I know personally two girls actually named varients of Aisha/Ayesha and one of them is Muslim.
I think it was the name of one of Muhammed’s wives, but that does not mean Muslim’s won’t use it. Hell, a lot of them are named for the prophet himself, aren’t they?
The guy was just a blowhard.
All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people.
OK, usually my opinion on this stuff is to tell them to fuck off, but I’m gonna go a little different route here. If I were you, I’d keep your name, and gently explain that you don’t give a shit what they think.
Ahhhh…the kinder, gentler Zette.
Anyway, you didn’t pick it to offend, and you can’t make everyone happy. His hangups aren’t your problem , and it’s not like you’re using it in an offensive way.
Oh, hell. On second thought, just tell him to bugger off.
Love is like popsicles…you get too much you get too high.
Not enough and you’re gonna die… Zettecity
Ayesha, ignore the creep. Ayesha (or as it’s more commonly written in English, 'Aisha) was Muhammed’s favorite wife. But as it’s previously been pointed out, Muslims can and do name their children after prominant people from Islamic history. After all, isn’t Muhammed supposed to be the most common name in the world? If you like the name, use it.
Gee, thanks, Ayesha. I’ve been getting hate mail from the Muslim Anti-Defamation League all afternoon.
As a devout Roman Polytheist, I have been deeply offended by pluto for months now. Since one of my signature dessert dishes at fashionable dinner parties is Crepes Suzette, I simply KNOW that Zette is mocking me. One of my favorite books as a child was THE STORY OF BABAR, and I would appreciate if Babar714 just knocked it the hell off. And as a Met fan and Harvard graduate, I certainly wish that Yankee Blue would stop waving those Bronx and Yale banners in my face every time I sign on.
Oh what next! Am I gonna get a visit from the Crackwhore’s League of America complaining about my name!
Ayesha, keep what ever name you want. If anyone has a problem with it, tell them to get a life. We have both God and the Devil here at SD… one would think that the muslims would want to be represented here too.
I really try to be good but it just isn’t in my nature!
By the way, Uke- one of my favorite things on earth to do is get out my Ukulele, strum “Tiptoe Thru the Tulips” and sing in a falsetto voice. Knock off the username if you know what’s good for ya.
PS- if you really do have a good, tried and true recipe for Crepes Suzette, e-mail it to me. I’m dying to prepare them for a dinner party sometime.
Love is like popsicles…you get too much you get too high.
Not enough and you’re gonna die… Zettecity
Bright College years, with pleasure rife,
The shortest, gladdest years of life;
How swiftly are ye gliding by!
Oh, why doth time so quickly fly?
The seasons come, the seasons go,
The earth is green or white with snow,
But time and change shall naught avail
To break the friendships formed at Yale.
In after years, should troubles rise
To cloud the blue of sunny skies,
How bright will seem, through mem’ry’s haze
Those happy, golden, bygone days!
Oh, let us strive that ever we
May let these words our watch-cry be,
Where’er upon life’s sea we sail:
“For God, for Country and for Yale!”
All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people.
What are the chances the same person will chat with you again?
I actually prefer that people don’t change their names, whatever they are, since it’s easier to keep track that way. But if you insist your name is @#&^<>, don’t expect me to call you anything but @.
Aisha - (ah-EE-shah)
African-Swahili/Arabic = 1) life, alive, 2) Muhammed’s chief wife
Did the jerk say why he was offended? Because muslims often use Mohammed and Ayesha for one of their names. I’d tell anyone who complained that it was an old family name going back generations.
Ike, I am always glad to help my cyber friends get lots of email
Zyada,
Thank you for the definition of the name. I think he was offended because I am not muslin and therefore in what passes for his mind, I should not use the name.
I love the quote too ! I may steal err… use it when I change my sig.
line next time .
If I don’t get a bunch of outraged dancers on my case for it , that is. Oh well if I do I will tell them it is all your fault !
BTW, when are you coming back to Houston ?
Ayesha
The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference.
This is what I know on the subject. As usual, I could be completely wrong.
Ayesha was Mohammed’s favorite wife out of the twelve he took after his first (and only, up until that point) wife died. She was twelve years old when he married her. It wasn’t too long after that that Mohammed went to Allah. Ayesha was very long-lived, and she became something of a matriarchical figure to the fledgling religion, and certain sects elevated her to a position almost as holy as that of Mohammed himself, calling her the “Mother of Islam” or something like that. It was probably a spiritual descendant of one of these sects that had the problem with your name. Like everybody else has been saying, I wouldn’t worry. Whoops, gotta go. I think I just saw the guy from Cracker coming.
An infinite number of rednecks in an infinite number of pickup trucks shooting an infinite number of shotguns at an infinite number of road signs will eventually produce all the world’s great works of literature in Braille.
I wouldn’t worry about it. Way back in the day, I used to occassionally use the nick Metatron on IRC. One day, I got the message:
(SomeGuy) Please do not use that name!
(Metatron) What name?
(SomeGuy) Metatron. He will be offended if you use that name! Don’t you know who Metatron is? He’s among the greatest of the angels! You have no right to use that name
(Metatron) But… but… I am Metatron!
At which point he got some other people to prattle on at about how I was unholying the name. Whatever. If nothing else, you can always just /ignore them.
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
, and it’s not like you’re using it in an offensive way.
