salam- a name issue

[albert]

Peace and blessings to you all. My name is Albert and I am russian muslim residing currently in Canada. I stumbled to this site and was fascinated by the heart touching videos. Thanks a lot for all the work you have been doing here.
Actually, I have a question to you, guys and appreciate if anyone of you would share his/her views. I have been approached many times by native born muslims who asked me to change my name, since it is not a proper islamic name. I object to those remarks, cuz it is the name given by my parents and i wasnt born in a muslim family and moreover people approach you easier and inquire about islam when they hear your name and see you dont bear typical muslim features. So what do you think about this issue. As for myself, I dont care much to those words, but I really raise my brows when I hear so many muslims keep telling me all these

thank you in advance. Salam
albert

 

[Andalusian]

:salam2:
welcome brother Albert . I am happy you join us, lhamdo li Allah

For your question try to read what members wrote in those weblinks, you will find incha'Allah an answer may Allah help you.

Source :
http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/showthread.php?t=732

"Muslim Name" and Attire?


Another gripe I have is the ignorance of many born Muslims about what they believe to be the necessity for a convert to adopt a so-called Muslim name. When I took my Shahada, I was asked not whether I wished to choose a "Muslim name" but what name I wished to adopt. Not knowing any better at the time, I did reluctantly choose a new name, and used it briefly in Muslim circles. However, I did not change any of my official documents. Only later did I discover that there is, in principle, no requirement whatsoever to change one's name. The original converts to Islam at the time of Prophet Mohammed usually kept the Arabic name they always had. The only exceptions were people who had a name with unpleasant or pagan connotations. So-called "Muslim names" are, in the main, simply Arabic ones or traditional names from countries that were early adopters of Islam. There is no requirement for a new Muslim to adopt one of these.

While I respect (though do not necessarily agree with) the choice of those Muslim converts who have adopted a new name, I expect all Muslims to respect the right of other converts such as myself to retain their original name. I generally now use my "real" name, not the "Muslim name" that was initially thrust upon me. Sadly I have come under pressure from some ignorant born Muslims on this matter.

To be frank, I feel that adopting a "Muslim name", makes it easier for one's existing circle of family and friends to dismiss one's conversion to Islam as an act of eccentricity which they can brush off. By changing one's name and starting to wear, say, Pakistani clothing, one confirms in their minds the foreignness or alien nature of what is supposed to be universal Islam. I believe that these actions, or dare I say distractions, make it harder for most people from non-Muslim countries to identify with Islam, the welcoming and inclusive universal religion open to all, and see how it could be relevant to their own lives.

The spiritually motivated western convert to Islam, whose Islam is centered on God not agitation, has a golden opportunity to depoliticize the widespread negative western perception of Islam and to diminish the impression that Islam is for strange, backward, sometimes frightening foreigners - Arabs and Asians - but not for westerners. In my view, this opportunity is thrown away or at the very least is hobbled by self-inflicted damage when a western convert unnecessarily adopts a foreign name and clothing, thus only reinforcing the preconceived notions and prejudices that non-Muslim fellow westerners tend to hold about Islam.

and this :
http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1169
brother Albert