Mar 30, 10:40 am ET
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Film-star-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger has fans around the world, but few are as avid as Baghdad gym owner Sabah Mehdi.
In a country where Americans are highly unpopular, Mehdi was thrilled to receive a letter from the governor of California saying he was honored that Mehdi had changed his five-year-old son Abdullah's name to Arnold.
"Arnold is a legend. Before the war nobody was allowed to give their children Western names. But now I was able to give him Arnold's name," said Mehdi, who has already started his son on a weightlifting program.
When Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California, Mehdi changed the name of his run-down gym in central Baghdad to the Arnold Classic. Its poster shows a picture of Schwarzenegger flexing his muscles, with the slogan "Arnold name is enough."
Encouraged by his letter from Schwarzenegger -- who wrote to him once before, in 1977 -- Mehdi hopes the slogan is true as his landlord asks for more rent and threatens to close the gym.
"We need help or I will go bankrupt. I hope he can help," he said. "I have sent him a letter and we are writing another one."
Times really have changed.
Before the U.S. invasion of Iraq a year ago, Mehdi, a former Iraqi bodybuilding champion, trained the sons of Saddam Hussein's most feared aides, including Ali Hassan al-Majeed, dubbed Chemical Ali for his gas attack on the Kurds in 1988.
"This would have never happened before when I was training the sons of Iraq's most important people," Mehdi said. "The landlord would have been too scared to mention the rent."
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Film-star-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger has fans around the world, but few are as avid as Baghdad gym owner Sabah Mehdi.
In a country where Americans are highly unpopular, Mehdi was thrilled to receive a letter from the governor of California saying he was honored that Mehdi had changed his five-year-old son Abdullah's name to Arnold.
"Arnold is a legend. Before the war nobody was allowed to give their children Western names. But now I was able to give him Arnold's name," said Mehdi, who has already started his son on a weightlifting program.
When Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California, Mehdi changed the name of his run-down gym in central Baghdad to the Arnold Classic. Its poster shows a picture of Schwarzenegger flexing his muscles, with the slogan "Arnold name is enough."
Encouraged by his letter from Schwarzenegger -- who wrote to him once before, in 1977 -- Mehdi hopes the slogan is true as his landlord asks for more rent and threatens to close the gym.
"We need help or I will go bankrupt. I hope he can help," he said. "I have sent him a letter and we are writing another one."
Times really have changed.
Before the U.S. invasion of Iraq a year ago, Mehdi, a former Iraqi bodybuilding champion, trained the sons of Saddam Hussein's most feared aides, including Ali Hassan al-Majeed, dubbed Chemical Ali for his gas attack on the Kurds in 1988.
"This would have never happened before when I was training the sons of Iraq's most important people," Mehdi said. "The landlord would have been too scared to mention the rent."