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 43 of 43)
631. I am so proud to be an atheist, and so are most of my friends. I sincerely believe that people whom feel the need to pray to an imaginary idol under the umbrella of any of the socially constructed religions should really consider this... Religion can be held responsible for more murders, hatred, and terrorist activity than anything else on earth. I am not racist, homophobic, judgemental, evil and i respect all human beings. Sorry, but imagine how many lives would be saved over the next hundred years if all of these socially constructed religions ceased to exist! Is it so difficult for the human race to accept that we live once and die once 'period' and for us to be greatfull for that privilage?
Coach at 9:15AM on Dec 1st 2007
632. If you wanted to stir up religous hatred and create an environment that promoted and facilitates extremism then it's not hard to do.
It's unfortunate that even those expressing genuine wisdom are affected by their religion and have to resort to my God(s) better than yours.
If you want to judge a society simply look at how it treats it's population. No society is ideal but you don't have to look to hard to see where the migrant population flows occur.
Until we start treating each other as human's first and respecting each other's basic right to live and thrive then we're all still stuck in the dark age.
Hardy at 10:04AM on Dec 3rd 2007
633. The SUDAN is a mass murder place...Research how a million or more Christians and Animists were murdered, raped and/or enslaved.
Thus, it is no surprise they would REACT in such a SAVAGE way.
Hope tho this woman apologizes for her unintentional offense and then LEAVES that country before she is MURDERED.
Disperse the postmodern FOG at 7:32AM on Nov 30th 2007
634.
I'm a British Muslim and I feel that the Media is using story lines as such to jeopardise the religion Islam. Media is loving this, I don't think people realise that it is just causing conflict and hatred towards Muslims. Why is it that when a Muslim does a good act it's never in the media or when a Muslim is attacked just for dressing in an Islamic manner it's never a big story in the media? I strongly disagree with what’s happened to this teacher, as a Muslim my self I didn’t realise that it was incorrect to call a teddy Muhammad. If I as Muslim wasn’t aware of this what chance does this poor teacher have? I don’t understand why she has been arrested as she wasn’t even the one who named the teddy – it was one of the students? It is extremely harsh, it was an innocent mistake and I’m sure she didn’t mean to be disrespectful toward Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him. If her agreeing with the children to name the teddy Muhammad was incorrect, then I’m sure all she needed was a quite word to explain the religious beliefs and the laws of the country. It is extreme and I hope she doesn’t feel that all Muslims are extremists. Word of advice to the general public; please don’t get sucked into the media, especially when it comes to Muslims and Islam. Islam is all about peace – go out there and get to know real Muslims not what you see in the Media because half the time these people are Muslims by name and try to use Islam for the unacceptable behaviour.
Mary at 8:04AM on Nov 30th 2007
635. Then, my obvious question to the Muslim religion is, are there two different doctrines in this religion, is there one who they go by over in Sudan and another over here? I can't understand how anyone anywhere can say I'm Muslim but, I don't feel that it is right. Heck, no its' horrible, and I as a woman and a christian have to wonder why they feel that they at anytime have the right to take something so stupid as naming of a stuffed bear a problem and a insult. Why in the world our these people allowed to go about doing the things they are doing and the Muslim's over here say well that not the way we believe? It's either one way or the other. I'm firmly a Christian I have one belief. The Chinese who are Christian have the same belief as I, the Polish who are Christian have the same belief as I, so where do you people come off saying your belief in Muslim is different than the belief in the same religion in Sudan. Don't believe in the Koran and will never believe that a person's civil rights should be violated no matter who they are. No need for a women to veil her face unless she wants to, not because some (human man) told her to. That's what is wrong in the world today. Christianity can and will set you free but, oh no let's go for a religion we don't fully understand and deal with a time bomb all in the name of Allah!!!! Rita
Rita at 11:09AM on Nov 30th 2007
636. this is simply irresponsible. naming a teddy bear mohammed really deminishes the reasons for a teddy bear. which is an icon of love.
Please, President Bush, do not send my tax dollars to fanatic Muslim countries such as Sudan.
mark at 3:22PM on Nov 30th 2007
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This is my doggy, I named him after the prophet Mohammed. Mohammed likes going poop around the house, and every time he does it I shout, 'Mohammed damn it!' My other dog Allah likes to run around after Mohammed and eat his poop.
lole at 4:04PM on Nov 30th 2007
638. Damn, looks like a mack truck came by and flattened Mohammed. :(
lole at 4:05PM on Nov 30th 2007
639. Islam is a religion of more than a billion people in the world. So when people make ridiculous and ignorant comments like "Islam is a gutter religion. Pure and simple. They are a dangerous lot and need to be neutralized" it is pure stupidity.
ONE BILLION people. In many, many countries and regions and provinces. Many kinds of people. The problems that are rooted in countries like Sudan stem politicially. Muslim people don't advocate violence. They DO advocate peace. Unfortunately, there are large political bodies that don't follow these rules and precedents.
Don't judge one billion people based on the actions of idiotic officials in Sudan, a country which has so much inner turmoil.
This woman needs to be freed and relieved of her punishment. She did nothing wrong.
NN at 9:47PM on Nov 30th 2007
640. *politically
NN at 9:58PM on Nov 30th 2007
641. Crazy, religion will end humanity. Mohammed can kiss my hairy ass. Anybody who supports religion need to look at facts, not a damn fictional book that was produced at a time when they thought the earth was flat!! Alarm bells are bloody ringing for gods sake!!! Simpletons.
Mr X at 10:31AM on Dec 4th 2007
642. it's a freakin Teddy Bear!
Frank Gallo at 6:58PM on Dec 5th 2007