British school teacher jailed in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7112929.stm

[?="The BBC has learned the charge could lead to six months in jail, 40 lashes or a fine."] 'Muhammad' teddy teacher arrested

Gillian Gibbons is described as "a talented and able teacher "

A British schoolteacher has been arrested in Sudan accused of insulting Islam's Prophet, after she allowed her pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad. Colleagues of Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, said she made an "innocent mistake" by letting the six and seven-year-olds choose the name.
Ms Gibbons was arrested after several parents made complaints.
The BBC has learned the charge could lead to six months in jail, 40 lashes or a fine.
Officials from the British embassy in Khartoum are expected to visit Ms Gibbons in custody later.
"We are in contact with the authorities here and they have visited the teacher and she is in a good condition," an embassy spokesman said.
The spokesman said the naming of the teddy happened months ago and was chosen by the children because it is a common name in the country.
"This happened in September and the parents did not have a problem with it," he said.
'Very sensitive'
The school has been closed until January for fear of reprisals.
Fellow teachers at Khartoum's Unity High School told Reuters news agency they feared for Ms Gibbons' safety after receiving reports that men had started gathering outside the police station where she was being held.
The school's director, Robert Boulos, said: "This is a very sensitive issue. We are very worried about her safety.
"This was a completely innocent mistake. Miss Gibbons would have never wanted to insult Islam."
Mr Boulos said Ms Gibbons was following a British national curriculum course designed to teach young pupils about animals and this year's topic was the bear.
Ms Gibbons, who joined the school in August, asked a seven-year-old girl to bring in her teddy bear and asked the class to pick names for it, he said.
"They came up with eight names including Abdullah, Hassan and Muhammad," Mr Boulos said, adding that she then had the children vote on a name.
Twenty out of the 23 children chose Muhammad as their favourite name.
Mr Boulos said each child was then allowed to take the bear home at weekends and told to write a diary about what they did with it.
He said the children's entries were collected in a book with a picture of the bear on the cover and a message which read, "My name is Muhammad."
Book seized
The bear itself was not marked or labelled with the name in any way, he added.
It is seen as an insult to Islam to attempt to make an image of the Prophet Muhammad.
Mr Boulos said Ms Gibbons was arrested on Sunday at her home inside the school premises after a number of parents complained to Sudan's Ministry of Education.
He said police had seized the book and asked to interview the girl who owned the bear.
The country's state-controlled Sudanese Media Centre reported that charges were being prepared "under article 125 of the criminal law" which covers insults against faith and religion.
No-one at the ministries of education or justice was available for comment.
Mr Boulos told the BBC he was confident she would not face a jail sentence.
One Muslim teacher at the independent school for Christian and Muslim children, who has a child in Ms Gibbons' class, said she had not found the project offensive.
"I know Gillian and she would never have meant it as an insult. I was just impressed that she got them to vote," the teacher said.
In Liverpool, a family spokeswoman said Ms Gibbons' grown children, John and Jessica - both believed to be in their 20s - were not commenting on her arrest.
"I have spoken with her children and they do not want to say anything and aggravate the situation over there," she said.
Rick Widdowson the headteacher of Garston Church of England Primary School, where Gillian worked for ten years, added: "We are an Anglican school and I know for a fact that Gillian would not do anything to offend followers of any faith.
"Certainly she is also very worldly wise and she is obviously aware of the sensitivities around Islam."
Cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad printed in several European newspapers sparked violent protests around the world in 2006.[/?]

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

Outrageous, of course.

But she really should have known about the nutty Islamic laws if she was going to be teaching kids in Sudan.

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

Free her with Nukes and fucking lots of them.

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

if you're going to work in a place populated by people who are backwards fundies, its probably a good idea to take note of the manifold ways they can take offense at what you may think of as normal.

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

Hope they don't find out what I named my pet pig...

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

She is one dumb bunny. Of all the names to choose.....jeeez!!

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

Yet, they can name their children Muhammed? I'm gonna smack the next person to name anything, "Jesus."

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

You'll never get to hire a Mexican then.

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

She is an infidel.

Plus they don't worship idols. There is no 'image' of the big Muhammed. Thats why the guys that did that cartoon got in trouble.

To name a doll Muhammed is a blasphemy.

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

I don't know if it's just me but Mohammed seems to be a shitty name for a Teddy bear.

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

My teddy bear is called Peter.
Will fundie Christians come after me...

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

Only if he has a peter.

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

Maybe, is he having the gay buttsecks with another bear?

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

Yeah, but the other bear is named 'Alter Boy' so it's all good.

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

Ludicrous to arrest this woman, but you can't expect any better from Sudan. I think she could escape punishment because of her profession but arresting her is still stupid.

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

Their whole system of religion based law is ridiculous.

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

Hey Assvir, any comment on another round of 'we're so peaceful' behavior from the religion of peace?

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

Woman sent to prison in Sudan for naming a Teddy Bear Muhammed

That's not even a crime!!!

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

Re: Woman sent to prison in Sudan for naming a Teddy Bear Muhammed

In a muslim country, yes it is. It is a blasphemy to name a pet or object Mohammed.

She should have done some research. The kids were too young to know this.

No Muslim would ever do this.

Re: Woman sent to prison in Sudan for naming a Teddy Bear Muhammed

On the bright side, she didn't get whipped and have to spend 13 times as long in a Sudanese prison.

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

Yeah, I was gonna dig 3 days deep to find if I duplicated a thread UA. Just made the front page of normal news media today.

Re: Woman sent to prison in Sudan for naming a Teddy Bear Muhammed

Repeat thread...

Re: Woman sent to prison in Sudan for naming a Teddy Bear Muhammed

Like a lot of Islamic countries, they have laws like this.

Of course, I have my doubts that had the bear been named "Jesus" or "Moses" any charges would have been filed.

Up until the 1700's Christians were pretty similar in terms of punishments for blasphemy.

How fragile is a God or a Prophet that mere words can wound him? In this case, it is the punishment, not the Teddy Bear, that are the insult to Muhammad.

Re: Woman sent to prison in Sudan for naming a Teddy Bear Muhammed

Gosh, wasn't that swell of the backwards savages?

Re: Woman sent to prison in Sudan for naming a Teddy Bear Muhammed

Uh, that might actually get you prosecuted for proselytizing other religions, which is probably even more severely punished. Under the Taliban, for instance, promoting Christianity or Judaism earned one the death penalty.




And what a weak god this Allah must be, if his supporters fear that naming a teddy bear after his prophet is some kind of threat to him.

Re: British school teacher arrested in Sudan for teddybear named "Muhammad"

Oh, and merged the threads. Midnight Funeral's had precedence. Updated the thread title to reflect the woman's conviction and incarceration.

Re: Woman sent to prison in Sudan for naming a Teddy Bear Muhammed

Everyone just wants to ignore their religious tenets. there is no worship of an image of Mohammed. No pet or doll shall be named Mohammed in the Muslim religion.