Honor and Name Culture
From the Department of Unfortunate Names (hat tip: Richard Landes)
Despite having served for years as a distinguished Pakistani diplomat, Akbar Zeb reportedly cannot receive accreditation as Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The reason, apparently, has nothing to do with his credentials, and everything to do with his name — which, in Arabic, translates to “biggest dick”:
In Saudi Arabia, size does count.
A high level Pakistani diplomat has been rejected as Ambassador of Saudi Arabia because his name, Akbar Zib, equates to “Biggest Dick” in Arabic. Saudi officials, apparently overwhelmed by the idea of the name, put their foot down and gave the idea of his being posted there, the kibosh.
According to this Arabic-language article in the Arab Times, Pakistan had previously floated Zeb’s name as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, only to have him rejected for the same reason. One can only assume that submitting Zeb’s name to a number of Arabic-speaking countries is some unique form of punishment designed by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry — or the result of a particularly egregious cockup.
No pun intended.
Update: Sorry, I can’t resist.
About the Author
An Australian immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave has been blogging since early 2003.Filed Under: General
I never realized the Saudis were a bunch of size queens.
Biggus Dickus, starring Richard Silverstein an Oscar winner for best picture ever.
Who'da thunk it that the Saudis suffer from an inferiority complex.
[...] me to…The Top Five Pick-Up Lines at a Saudi Prince Sex Party5. “The name’s Akbar Zeb”4. “I’m feeling a bit peckish. Can I have some breast milk?”3. “Want [...]