Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Oct 17: US President Donald Trump sparked controversy after joking about the popularity of the name Mohammad among Muslims while mocking Iran's presidency during a campaign rally in Georgia on Friday.
Speaking to a crowd at a hangar at Dalton Municipal Airport, Trump said people unsure of someone's name in the Middle East could simply call them Mohammad, claiming the name was so common that the guess would usually be correct.
“You know, if you're in doubt about somebody's name from the Middle East, just say 'Mohammad,'” Trump told the audience. “You have about a 65% chance. 'Hello, Mohammad.' I've done it for years now. I've never been wrong.”
Trump made the remarks while discussing Iran, claiming that the country was unusual because nobody wanted to become its president. He then pretended to ask several people named Mohammad whether they wanted the position. Iran has been led by President Masoud Pezeshkian since 2024.
The crowd responded to the joke with limited enthusiasm, according to Reuters.
Mohammad, also commonly spelled Muhammad, is among the most popular male names in Muslim communities, with many parents naming their sons after the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam.
Trump's remarks come amid repeated criticism from rights advocates and Muslim organisations over rhetoric they say targets Muslims, immigrants and ethnic minorities.
During the current campaign season, Trump has intensified his attacks on Somali and Muslim Americans, including Muslim Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Representative Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who arrived in the United States as a Somali refugee.
The president also reiterated his pledge that Iran would never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. His remarks came seven months after the United States and Israel launched a war against Tehran, partly aimed at crippling its nuclear programme.
An annual report released earlier this year by the Council on American-Islamic Relations attributed rising Islamophobia in the United States, in part, to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and actions against pro-Palestinian protests during his second term.