A License War of Words : Expression: DMV wants ‘4 JIHAD’ plates replaced. The owner’s father calls the demand offensive.

Last February, Dr. Kareem Jaffer bought his oldest son a 1979 BMW for his 16th birthday with personalized license plates bearing his name.

But now, in a case that came before the Orange County Human Relations Commission, the California Department of Motor Vehicles has called the plates “very offensive” and warned Jaffer to trade them in by Feb. 22 or face legal action.

Why? Jaffer named his son Jihad, and given the war in the Persian Gulf, the DMV says, the youth’s license plate, 4 JIHAD, is in poor taste.

Jihad , an Arabic word taken from the Koran (Islam’s sacred book), has been widely translated to mean “holy war” in English ever since Saddam Hussein and the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used the word in an appeal to Muslims to arm themselves for a battle against U.S. interests.

While many Muslim scholars criticize that translation and maintain that the true meaning of jihad is to strive to become a better Muslim through peaceful means, it is the highly publicized call for a holy war by religious fanatics that has stuck in the minds of most Americans.

“In this time frame, it’s pretty obvious why the decision was made,” said DMV spokesman Bill Gengler in Sacramento. “Because they in fact would be advertising that they are for a holy war against the U.S. and allied forces in the Persian Gulf and that would be very offensive obviously to very many people.”

Jaffer said he will appeal. He is outraged at what he considers the insensitive tone of a DMV letter that calls his son’s name “offensive to good taste and decency.”

“I would have understood if the DMV had said that in this day and age, people on the street may not understand that this is your son’s name and we recommend that you take those plates off,” Jaffer said. “But to come out and say that the configuration 4 JIHAD is very offensive?”

For many Arab-Americans, the DMV’s recall of the license plates is another troubling example of the kind of discrimination that Arab-Americans have faced around the country since the outbreak of the Gulf War.

A family friend of the Jaffers who testified before the Human Relations Commission last week about a rise in harassment and violence against Arab-Americans nationwide called the incident an “affront to every Arab-American family.”

“I think they should have just let it be because their concern was not the safety of the young man driving that car,” said Nadia Saad Bettendorf, a member of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Orange County. “Their concern is that some people are racist and find it offensive.”

Jaffer, an Iraqi-American neurosurgeon whose three children were born in the United States, said his son’s name stems from the literal translation of jihad , which means “to strive” to spread the Islamic faith peacefully. “It’s a common first name, not only in Iraq but in many Arab and Muslim countries,” said Jaffer, who has lived in Hemet, southeast of Riverside, for the past 12 years.

According to Muzammil Siddiqi, director of the Islamic Society of Orange County, naming someone Jihad connotes a wish that the person will strive to do good things or be involved in good struggles.

“The struggle could be a military struggle, but that’s not the meaning of the word,” Siddiqi said.

Meanwhile, the incident has been a painful awakening for Jihad, 16, who was born and raised in the United States and has never been to the Middle East. Since receiving the DMV letter two weeks ago, the soft-spoken high school junior has kept his black BMW covered up in the back yard out of fear for his safety.

“If someone would complain to the DMV, they might throw a rock through the windshield,” he reasoned.

Like most children growing up, Jihad never gave much thought to his name. It was merely the name that he was given at birth. But now, that has changed.

“I thought, ‘What’s next? Are they going to tell me I can’t go by my name?’ ” Jihad said. “If they say my name is an offense to good taste and decency, that means that I am an offense to good taste and decency. Maybe if it was worded better, I wouldn’t have taken it so hard.” In a DMV letter dated Jan. 22, the Jaffers were advised that the plates were a problem and could be exchanged free of charge at the nearest DMV office. Citing the state Vehicle Code, the correspondence stated that the DMV is authorized to order the return of any personalized plate that “carries connotations offensive to good taste and decency.”

“If you do not elect to voluntarily surrender the license plates by Feb. 22, 1991, “ the letter states, “the department will be forced to commence legal proceedings to cancel the plates.”

Gengler of the DMV said the department routinely orders the return of controversial license plates whenever a complaint is filed by a member of the public. Plates are recalled if they are deemed offensive because of vulgarity, prejudice, or if they display a racially or ethnically degrading term, he said.

“The most significant case is something that occurred within the last year with the recall of 333 plates that bore” a combination spelling out an ethnic epithet, Gengler said. “ . . . We got complaints from the Italian-American community that that was offensive. Most of the people who had those plates were Italian-Americans, but the department has to go beyond that.”

In such cases, the DMV sends the owner a letter asking him to voluntarily exchange the plates. Those notified can appeal the department’s ruling before an administrative law judge.

If Jaffer brings in a birth certificate proving that Jihad is really his son’s first name, the DMV will consider reissuing the plate, Gengler said.

“In that case, unless there are some other extenuating circumstances we would allow them to keep that license plate,” Gengler said. “But the wisdom of keeping it in these times might be something else.”