“Abdel Rahim” has changed his name to “Peres” and no longer brags about his Arabic roots in public to spare himself police and employers’ discrimination, and dozens have opted for the new lease of life to escape the harsh reality.
“Neither my family in Morocco nor my Muslim colleagues in France knew that I changed my name on official papers,” the 23-year-old French-naturalized Moroccan told IslamOnline.net Monday, November 21. “The new name gave me a job and put me on an equal footing with my work colleagues, who knew nothing about my background.”
He said that his dark complexion further represented a stumbling bloc to his ambitions. “But I found a way out by pretending that I was of Spanish origins,” he said, with a bitter laugh on his face. “When I was Abdel Rahim, I never received any response from five companies for which I had applied,” he added. “But Peres was accepted now in two jobs and has to choose.”