Why do they call me Mo?

I'll start off, and end off this post by saying, that I really don't mind it --being called Mo. Its just that I'm not very fond of nicknames, Mido, Hamada, Abuhmeid, Mo, ugh.

At one point of my teenage life I was actually enjoying being called Mo. Its more of an American nickname than anything. You know how Americans like to shorten everything, using acronyms and abbreviations. So Mo was a natural nickname for Mohamed, shorter, easier to pronounce, and sounds American. But the problem with it being American, is that Moe stooge from The Three Stooges. I don't think its a compliment to be nicknamed after this guy (I think he was the dumbest of the three).

I grew out of it though. I grew out of all nicknames actually. You know that IRC chatting thing, I tried it out when I was in college, and used to use one of those silly nicknames. Some of my college friends still call me that till now! One of them is a big shot Managing Director in a fast growing company. I bump into him, and he calls out my stupid historical nickname outloud! Don't know how to erase that from his memory. He actually sounds silly saying it.

My nephews call me Mo, but they're little kids. Couldn't pronounce my full name as little babies, so they learnt to call me with the shorter version of the name. I hope that changes as they grow up.

You know how in Egypt friends call you with your last name or your father's name, especially when your first name is so common. That happens to me ofcourse, and I'm perfectly fine with it. Just happens that some group of friends use my last name, and some others use my father's name, and sometimes it gets abit confusing. A friend of mine makes a point of calling me with my first name when he's annoyed with me, and wants it to sound like its a formal conversation. I actually enjoy it when he does that. "Hello Mohamed. Good morning Mohamed. How do you do Mohamed."

I heard a Muslim scholar once say, that our prophet encourages us to call people by what they'd like to be called by. This was said in the context of what to call Egyptian Christians. I'm not sure, but I guess they don't like being called "Nasara", but rather be called "Copts". Although Nasara means, those who nasaro (stood by) the prophet and his companions during the early days of Islam, so its like calling them "buddies". Anyway, so he was saying, if they like to be called "Copts", they should be called "Copts". So I like to call people with what they prefer, nickname or real name. Whatever you prefer, I'll call you by it.

It is also an Islamic duty on parents to pick good names for their new-borns. I think my parents picked an okay name for me, Mohamed. Its not really my favorite, having the same name as half of the country --when in Egypt, and implying that I am a terrorist --when abroad. It is a great name, same as our prophet's. But I'd rather follow him in many other significant actions and deeds, rather than just simply have the same name. I don't think God will count my name on the balance of my good deeds in the day of judgement. I wish He would, I know I'll need all the support I can get, but this just won't count.

I've learnt to live with it though, and enjoy it. Doesn't really serve its purpose, the name, of uniquely identifying me. But maybe that's better.

I used to really like it when my ex would write my name as "M7amad" when she emailed me. You know, mimicking the Arabic literals to make the Arabic pronounciation of the name, with the 7ah. Felt like she was sitting infront of me and speaking right to my face. Felt good. All my friends would call me with my father's name or last name, and she would call me M7amad. Felt very intimate from her. If she did once call me with my father's name, she sounded like one of them. So see how it goes. Strangers call me Mohamed, Mr. Mohamed. Friends call me with my father's or family name. Intimates call me with my first name again.

I think the proper spelling of my name in English is Muhammad, that's how I spell the prophet's name. But when I spell my name, I like to simplify it as much as possible, make it sound familiar to English speakers, so ignore the heavy diacritics, make it light and smooth for the smooth Westerners, Mohammed.

I think the right spelling should have a double 'm', but I like to spell it with one 'm' to shorten it abit, Mohamed. Its already long enough, and my last name is even longer, so I think shortening my first one is a good idea. Plus, you end up pronouncing it the same way with one or two m's.

Some people don't care much as to how they're called, or how their names are spelled. I don't know if we should care or not, but isn't it a part of our identity.

Then again, you can call me whatever (just not Mido or Hamada).