Badr Al-Khoraif, Asharq Al-Awsat

RIYADH, 21 December 2003 — A Saudi named after the deposed Iraqi dictator has no intention of changing his name.

Saddam Hussein Al-Khudairi told Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News, the arrest of his namesake by US forces made no difference to him.

To Al-Khudairi’s family, the former Iraqi leader was a symbol of courage, especially during the Iraq-Iran war and when he promised to “burn Israel.”

Saddam, 22, said his parents named him because they believed the Iraqi strongman was the only Arab leader capable of defeating Israel.

Saddam said his name had on several occasions put him in embarrassing situations. The day before speaking to the newspaper, he said, he was stopped at a checkpoint. “When I showed the police officer my ID, he asked me if I’d escaped from jail in Iraq,” he said.

Saddam said the Iraqi leader’s arrest “was a painful moment for every Arab. How could a courageous leader look so pitiful in front of the medical examiner? He will only receive a fair trial if he is tried by an international court. If he is tried in Iraq, he will be executed.”

Saddam suffered some ribbing when his namesake was arrested. “Why did you give up so easily?” his friends asked. “Why didn’t you shoot yourself?”

Saddam Hussein was born in Zulfi, 280 km northwest of Riyadh. He has a diploma in computer science and works with the Saudi Telecom Company.

“Because I am always with my two cousins, people call them the Republican Guards,” he said.

“Saddam used to be a good name before the Iraqi leader invaded Kuwait. After the invasion, the name became shameful. But I’m not going to change it now,” he added.