Chechnya asked parents of boys born on Prophet Mohammad's birthday to name their children after the Muslim prophet, Mohammad, Russian media reported on Monday.

Chechnya's leader Ramzan Kadyrov added that every boy born on March 8 and March 9 will also receive 50,000 roubles ($1,394) -- a hefty sum more than double Russia's average monthly wage.

State television channel Vesti 24 showed rows of newborn babies sleeping in a hospital in Chechnya's capital Grozny who will be named Mohammad on Monday. Earlier, the capital sent fireworks into the early morning skies around a lit-up mosque.

"I ask their parents to name the boys after Mohammad," Interfax news agency quoted former rebel turned Kremlin-loyal leader Kadyrov as saying.

Chechnya is predominantly Muslim land which fought against Russian soldiers to separate as a independent state, starting in 1994.

Reuters