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 4 of 43)
46. I am totally sick of hearing about these emotionally twisted people and their ridiculous rules relating to persecution of women and religious persecution. There is no compassion or understanding displayed for their fellow humans. They are all dogs as far as I'm concerned.
gayle palmer at 1:14PM on Nov 27th 2007
47. Muslims keep trying to convince everyone else that their religion is a peaceful one, and that the assasins and suicide bombers, etc. are extremists that do not represent what they are about. This does not help prove their case.
L at 1:15PM on Nov 27th 2007
48. What message do you think it sends to the 6&7 year old children? They grow up to make decisions like this one. Doesn't Islam teach common sense? Look into her face. Does she look like she means to harm anyone. She is simply a teacher working in Sudan teaching little children. I feel sorry for her and all the children. This makes no sense to 97% of the rest of the world. Sudan might want to ge a second opinion. I would have named him Mo.
tony at 1:15PM on Nov 27th 2007
49. Zagros Sadjadi is obviously a scholar, very on target. Hopefully, the Sudanese will have advisors with his ability to quote and express, and solve this very knee jerk reaction with an apology and a let it go.
Everyone loves Teddy Bears---one would think having the children choose a favorite name and journal the activites of a loveable, non threatening, comforting toy would be good for everyone in this world of knee jerk and kill the messenger--or anyone else-- Sheila Firehair
Sheila Firehair at 1:17PM on Nov 27th 2007
50. All I can say is that the producers of The Simpson's,Family Guy and American Dad sure are lucky that Christians don't respond to insults like Muslim's do.
Diana at 1:18PM on Nov 27th 2007
51. # 35 Richard (or is it Mahmoud?)
Hey tough guy,
Dont lecture me on the middle east, I lived there for 2 plus years serving THIS GREAT COUNTRY. I know more about the locals than youll ever know.
Semper Fi
Mike Lawyer at 8:43PM on Nov 27th 2007
52. Islam is a gutter religion. Pure and simple. They are a dangerous lot and need to be neutralized.
bellwells at 1:18PM on Nov 27th 2007
53. I reiterate;
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 1:18PM on Nov 27th 2007
54. We in the good old USA are mostly Christian and as such we believe in being nice and we turn the other cheek. Well, we do it way too often and these jerks take advantage and think they can push push push. They consider our kindness as weakness. Time to stop being so nicy nicy and pull out the sword as Jesus disciple did when he was betrayed. That Bible only tells us to turn the cheek once. Time has come to bloody a few Mohammeds. They consider us to be heathen infadels and we need to stand up and show we have a side they don't want to see.
Dennis at 1:20PM on Nov 27th 2007
55. To an earlier commentor, the Bible does not speak of a god who can be possessed by anyone. God is, indeed, God and all of us belong to God whether we believe or not; we do not have to do anything God's way and even God will not violate our free will. We may not believe in rain but will get wet nonetheless. Intolerance is not God's way; however, it is sadly the way of far too many. The falderah over this issue promotes an ungodly agenda rather than one of enlightenment. Faith that is lived out is important. Religion is not faith and perhaps has always been a thorn in its side. Oh, please, let us unite in truth with faith and stop allowing ingnorance to divide us. We have so much to be grateful for and a life lived in gratitude is far better than one lived in conflict. Emotions and opinions can be so devisive. Let us take control over and responsibility for who and what we can....each....ourselves. Then watch how history unfolds. We are making history by the living of today, you know. All unkindness and jealousy,etc. gets is more of the same; love, alone, never fails.
Kathleen at 8:11PM on Nov 27th 2007
56. To an earlier commentor, the Bible does not speak of a god who can be possessed by anyone. God is, indeed, God and all of us belong to God whether we believe or not; we do not have to do anything God's way and even God will not violate our free will. We may not believe in rain but will get wet nonetheless. Intolerance is not God's way; however, it is sadly the way of far too many. The falderah over this issue promotes an ungodly agenda rather than one of enlightenment. Faith that is lived out is important. Religion is not faith and perhaps has always been a thorn in its side. Oh, please, let us unite in truth with faith and stop allowing ingnorance to divide us. We have so much to be grateful for and a life lived in gratitude is far better than one lived in conflict. Emotions and opinions can be so devisive. Let us take control over and responsibility for who and what we can....each....ourselves. Then watch how history unfolds. We are making history by the living of today, you know. All unkindness and jealousy,etc. gets is more of the same; love, alone, never fails.
Kathleen at 1:23PM on Nov 27th 2007
57. As with most governmental activities worldwide, there is a significant symbolic issue that is being used here by the "powers that be" in the Sudan. The punishment and reaction are disproportionate because "leaders" want/need to control their masses through whatever means they have at hand. Sudan's news service which spread this story is government run. And pushing this issue to it's farthest possible point shows their masses how corruptive and corrosive "westerners" are on their society. And how much easier this manipulation becomes when it's also tied to their faith. And I suspect this story will have great coverage with the right-wing news media in the US too. "Look at these heathens, we must educate them in the right way to think and behave" Education is the only way to rid the world of intolerance.
Mike at 1:32PM on Nov 27th 2007
58. If naming a bear Mohammad is idolatry, why is it okay to name people Mohammad? It's the most common name in the world.
Mokele Mbembe at 1:24PM on Nov 27th 2007
59. Well Richard, aren't you an "enlightened progressive"? How very nice.
bellwells at 1:24PM on Nov 27th 2007
60. All these calls for retribution mean that you don't understand the real problem.
Read my lips - we have no business being there. They do not want the west there and I can't blame them. If a foreign nation caused my family to starve or worse, I would do whatever was needed to get rid of them. Try a little empathy, put yourself in thier shoes.
Richard at 1:25PM on Nov 27th 2007