A British teacher at a high school in Sudan, Gillian Gibbons, 54, was arrested on blasphemy charges for allowing her six- and seven-year-old students to name a class teddy bear "Mohammed," says the Telegraph. She was interrogated for five hours, according to the Daily Mail, and the teacher now may face forty lashes and six months in prison. Protests against Ms. Gibbons, a divorced mother of two, have broken out all over Sudan and the school has been closed through January to prevent retaliation. On one hand, you want to say Ms. Gibbons should have known to avoid the name, especially given the recent Danish cartoon debacle, which resulted in dozens of deaths. The Koran say, "[Allah is] the originator of the heavens and the earth... [there is] nothing like a likeness of Him." The ban is supposed to prevent idolatry.
But it's hard to make a case the class' teddy bear project, which involved students taking "Mohammed" the bear home and recording his "activities" in a diary, could be construed as deliberately insulting.
Hassan Aberdeen, a researcher at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, quoted in Sky News, says that the anger over this does indeed seem to be disproportionate, even given Sudan's strict Islamic Sharia law. He says, "It seems that the parents made an issue of the teacher calling an animal Mohammed. Calling him a dog or a pig is insulting, but this is just a teddy bear."
And who would think the teddy bear (whose name was voted on by the class; Assan and Abdullah lost to Mohammed) was actually intended as a representation of the prophet? And who would imagine he would turn the students into teddy bear cultists?
It just seems like a logical fallacy to say that calling a teddy bear Mohammed is the same as calling Mohammed a teddy bear. After all, Muslim children are routinely named Mohammed; no one thinks they're being cast as reincarnations of the prophet.
In the case of the Danish cartoons, the image was actually supposed to represent the true Mohammed. Suddenly, by comparison to this, the rage over those little sketches seems imminently reasonable.
(Photo of Gibbons is from her Friends Reunited account via Reuters)
Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 43)
16. Muslim, christian, jew, all zealots, all the same.
Don't you see that these muslims aren't persecuting a 54 year old school teacher, they are striking back the only way they can at the way the west has persecuted the muslim world for the last 50 years with sanctions and bombing of muslim lands. Extremists suicide bombings may grab headlines, but when a toll is taken the results are overwhelmingly on the side of the west.
The west, us, need to be out of that are of the world. How clear do they have to make it to us?!
Richard at 12:53PM on Nov 27th 2007
17. pray tell, what in the world was she doing in that country?
This people are wackos, I have spent some time in 4 countries out there, its almost like a cult of people who like seeing blood and death, in the name of religion. This is no chance that this what God wants.
Judaism, maybe... Christianity, maybe.. but death and hatred of Islam, NEVER!!!!
Mike Lawyer at 1:01PM on Nov 27th 2007
18. I'm all for religious tolerance, but these fanatics are scum. The KID'S named the Teddy Bear, for goodness sake. If "Mohammed" is a typical name that these people give their kids and the kids see it as a sign of love, of COURSE they wanted to name their beloved Teddy Bear "Mohammed." They see the bear as a friend or a playmate ... not as an ANIMAL. Just the way our kids see Mickey Mouse. They see a beloved friend and a symbol of warmth and security ... not a giant rat. This entire situation is overblown and ridiculous.
michele at 12:53PM on Nov 27th 2007
19. I agree it's foolish. I'm muslim and I'm not offended. Mohammed is a common name. Theres a saying in Egypt "Every family has a Mohammed". The kids chose the name themselves, and kids are innocent. It's a treasured toy, and they're honoring it as such. I think some muslims are sensitive due to the REAL blasphemies being committed by the Danish press and elsewhere.
asphoura at 12:53PM on Nov 27th 2007
20. Anyone who thinks Islam is harmless to Freedom of Speech in America needs to read this story.
I am a Christian, and many defamations to Christ happen all day long but that is the price we pay for Freedom. You just can't flog people for stuff like this. What Century are we living in anyway!
Peter at 12:57PM on Nov 27th 2007
21. I think we should all name a teddy bear mohammed. I also think we should all draw a cartoon of mohammed and sign on as co-authors of Salman Rushdie, may peace be upon him.
joseph Springer at 12:56PM on Nov 27th 2007
22. # 16 Richard,
You are obviously a Muslim!! Everyone here can read right through your veil. You are either dumb and do not know whats going on, or your stupid to think that death and destruction are OK, "because we are on their soil". When you throw every Muslim out of the west, then you can throw the west out of the middle east, otherwise, why the double standard????
Mike Lawyer at 1:02PM on Nov 27th 2007
23. Just goes to show the level of intellect the Muslim people have, you would think if he was such a great God then why would be threatened by anything a mere mortal has to say!! what idiots!!
Roy Abramat at 2:54PM on Nov 27th 2007
24. The kids did NOT name the teddy bear, the teacher did. How stupid not to respect other people's beliefs, just for the sake of it. We don't have to agree, but to freely provoque is assinine and I believe in this instance very intentional.
Charles at 12:59PM on Nov 27th 2007
25. All radical religions are the same, be it Christianity or Islam. One religion is not better than the other, but it is this very reason why church (religion) and state should remain separate. This is why it is so fundamental that the USA ensures such a separate remains and keeps religion out of its laws and politics. Else we will be where they are now in the near future. If you can't stand to see such happen then make sure you prevent the same happening in the USA from our own form of extreme religion. Else you are no better than they are, hypocritical and are talking down upon something simply because it isn't you doing it by your own way/beliefs.
J at 1:00PM on Nov 27th 2007
26. There are lots of men and boys in the Islamic world named after the Prophet. It appears that the teacher and her children were simply choosing the Nicest Name they could think of.
Chris Turner at 10:32PM on Nov 27th 2007
27. I really think we should be kill the Muslims and shove their false profit Mohammed right up their A*ss
Curt at 12:59PM on Nov 27th 2007
28. All this hate and drama over something that doesn't even exist. Wars have been fought because people have different fantasies about what happens after death? Worry about living!
Alan at 1:05PM on Nov 27th 2007
29. Why stop with muslims?
Richard at 1:11PM on Nov 27th 2007
30. I don't know much about Islahm or Jihad but I do know this ... It's just a NAME! And the class voted on the name for A TEDDY BEAR!!! Oh my Gosh! What is wrong with this world! Leave that poor teacher alone!!!
Rhonda at 1:16PM on Nov 27th 2007