Chinese officials are prohibiting parents from giving their children “religious” Muslim names in a northwestern region of the country — and now officials may even be forcing parents to change the names of children up to 16 years old.

Names such as Jihad, Mecca and Saddam are prohibited for kids in the Xinjiang region.

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Authorities also have instructed teachers, public servants and employees in the service sector of this region of China to restrain from fasting. In the Islamic faith, fasting is mandatory during the daylight hours of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which is taking place right now until June 25.

Related: Did Chinese Officials Just Try to Ban Ramadan Observance?

The name ban is part of a larger effort to cut back on the extremism thought to be coming from the region.

“We must treat the enemy harshly and brush away the old to make a clean sweep, we should raise our swords high and in no way be lenient,” according to a Communist party cadre that led a rally in Urumqi (the capital of Xinjiang), as reported by the India Samvad Bureau.

“Some of their parents are either in jail or detention.”

Some 10 million Uyghur (or Uighur) people — an ethnic Turkish group — live in the Xinjiang region of China.

“The government considers Xinjiang a hotbed of Islamic extremism, violence and separatist thought,” The New York Times reported. “But many Uyghurs say the government’s strict limits on worship and speech are responsible for tensions in the region.”

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The banned names number more than a dozen, according to reports; however, Radio Free Asia noted that “the order may soon include Uyghurs of all ages.”

Many of the Uyghur people are Sunni Muslims.

Related: The Chinese Buddhist Ritual That’s Upsetting Local Fishermen

“Uyghur people have to be cautious if they want to give their children names they are happy with, and at the same time avoid punishment from the government,” Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress (a group based in Munich, Germany), said in a statement earlier this year.

It’s unclear of the exact boundaries of the ban implementation, and when or how authorities will enforce the name restriction.

“Basically, the village cadres are assisting the minors [in changing] their names, because some of their parents are either in jail or detention,” a police officer in Hotan (in Chinese, Hetian) told Radio Free Asia of his district.

Other banned names — aside from Jihad, Mecca and Saddam — include Medina and Hajj.

“If a parent chooses one of the barred names, the child will be denied government benefits,” Fox News reported.