Monday, November 26, 2007 | Reason : Wingnut News | print version

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'Muhammad' teddy teacher arrested

by BBC

SUDAN - 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.

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"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.

Posted: Monday, November 26, 2007 | Permalink

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1. Comment #90805 by Alkal on November 26, 2007 at 12:12 pm

but isn't Mohammed a common name?
I mean, are people committing heresy when they call their sons Mohammed and take pictures of them???

Other Comments by Alkal

2. Comment #90807 by PrimeNumbers on November 26, 2007 at 12:17 pm

Now, where are the "moderate" UK Muslims protesting for this teacher's release? Where is our Dr Bari? Shouldn't he be demanding this teacher's release?

This teacher didn't "make a mistake", innocent or otherwise. Stupid, ignorant, backward, unfit for decent society Muslims made a mistake.

Just imagine what would have happened if the girl had brought in a toy pig to be named? We'd be reading this teacher's obituary now in that case.

Other Comments by PrimeNumbers

3. Comment #90810 by celestial_T on November 26, 2007 at 12:19 pm

If the children chose the name, why aren't they being locked up? surely that would be the logical extension of the law? or would that be bad PR for islam? oh hang on a minute, sorry, I mistakenly used the word 'logical' there, whilst talking about a situation in which someone is being imprisoned and punished for NAMING A SOFT TOY AFTER A MADE-UP PERSON. Hey guys! God is pretend! Didn't anybody tell - oh, what's the point?

(rant over - carry on everyone)

Other Comments by celestial_T

4. Comment #90812 by Rtambree on November 26, 2007 at 12:29 pm

There's something ironic in naming a child's teddy bear after a pedophile.

Other Comments by Rtambree

5. Comment #90813 by Fanusi Khiyal on November 26, 2007 at 12:32 pm

I am just waiting to hear how those 40 lashes are all the fault of Western foreign policy.

Other Comments by Fanusi Khiyal

6. Comment #90814 by Rtambree on November 26, 2007 at 12:35 pm

5. Comment #90813 by Fanusi Khiyal

>I am just waiting to hear how those 40 lashes are all the fault of Western foreign policy.

And we're all just waiting for you to blame Chomsky for the lashes. C'mon - I'm sure you can get Chomsky in this topic somehow. You normally do. Go on - make us laugh one more time.

Other Comments by Rtambree

7. Comment #90818 by bluebird on November 26, 2007 at 12:50 pm

She could've played it safe; the bear already has a name:
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear

Other Comments by bluebird

8. Comment #90820 by markblur1 on November 26, 2007 at 1:03 pm

It has all gone too far now....Danish cartoons, teddy bears etc..it is time for the governments of the secular west to start putting pressure of these crackpots.
Im off to live in Sweden where 85 percent are atheists and yet the crime rate is low and they have the best welfare system in the world

Other Comments by markblur1

9. Comment #90821 by tieInterceptor on November 26, 2007 at 1:04 pm

I mean, are people committing heresy when they call their sons Mohammed and take pictures of them???

you are right, they should round up all the idolaters that use that name and destroy them with tnt and rocket propelled grenades, just like they did to the giant Buddha statues.

Other Comments by tieInterceptor

10. Comment #90825 by kraut on November 26, 2007 at 1:20 pm

Ya know - fucke'm, but fuckem hard. No more "aid", just abandon those religious idiots, leave stew in their own spiritual soup.

Other Comments by kraut

11. Comment #90827 by tobyowl on November 26, 2007 at 1:21 pm

I'm in Sweden Markblur.
The number of atheists is going down & the crime rate is going up.
They're starting work on a new mosque soon in Gothenburg & there is pro PKK grafitti where I live. Oh the joys of a liberal society.

(That sounds a bit negative, I'm mostly pro Sweden's policies, and love Sweden).

Other Comments by tobyowl

12. Comment #90834 by SurfDude on November 26, 2007 at 1:29 pm

".... they feared for Ms Gibbons' safety after receiving reports that men had started gathering outside the police station where she was being held."

Very little more needs to be added to this desperately sad story.

Other Comments by SurfDude

13. Comment #90835 by Vinelectric on November 26, 2007 at 1:33 pm

I think Muslims worship Muhammad withouth actually realising it. This madness in Sudan is highly typical. They luurrvvve the man. You don't even have to insult him in any remote way. If you happen to utter his name when everyone is in the mood to "want to die for him" then you're stuffed.

The woman's only fault is that she is a Westerner and happened to be in a country recovering from a more serious incident that happened about a year ago. Last year one of the websites (that I bet Fanusi likes to visit) published a story by Ibn Warraq suggesting that Muhammad was an illegitimate child.

The media (which is enjoying a bit of freedom) was naive enough to publish, not the actual story, but a critcism of it by a well meaning but outspoken journalist (Muhammad Taha). The man was kidnapped and beheaded in an incident that was first of it's kind in the country. The journalist did make racist remarks to some other no-nonesense tribe so it is not clear who killed him but naturally no one has heard anything since.

As long as you're a Westerner doing a "Dante" and visiting the living hell (Sudan) then there's no gurantee that you won't get into trouble for no good reason.

Other Comments by Vinelectric

14. Comment #90836 by Nick Good on November 26, 2007 at 1:35 pm

It's positively refreshing that the all too often Islamophile BBC, is one of the first MSM outlets to report this.

Other Comments by Nick Good

15. Comment #90841 by kraut on November 26, 2007 at 1:44 pm

I come to believe, anybody not being an islamophobe in western countries with a large islamic population doesn't know s/he is playing with fire. Attempts at introducing sharia law into canada have been made and luckily have been defeated.
The will not integrate - so why welcome them?
Kicke'm out, there are countries where there is a muslim majority. Please stay there, not welcome here. We are not welcome to live by our laws in any muslim country either.

Other Comments by kraut

16. Comment #90843 by 35bluejacket on November 26, 2007 at 1:46 pm

"Lets just go into orbit and nuke the planet" -Ripley

It gets so depressing sometimes the Apocalypse sounds good.

Other Comments by 35bluejacket

17. Comment #90846 by Quetzalcoatl on November 26, 2007 at 1:51 pm

Ridiculous. Absolutely f*cking ridiculous.

But I think it important that we show respect for their cultural and religious beliefs and taker care not to make any inflammatory comments.

Or not.

Other Comments by Quetzalcoatl

18. Comment #90848 by Mr DArcy on November 26, 2007 at 1:52 pm

Being a woman she is worth half a man, being (presumably non muslim), she is worth killing. Being a westerner also, well 3-6 months in jail, the girl's getting off light.

For ignorant people who actually believe that blasphemy is a crime, from the safety of my keyboard, I say "bollocks to you".

Whilst we know that 72 virgins await Islamic martyrs in heaven, is there any reason for the women to go there? What's in it for them?

Other Comments by Mr DArcy

19. Comment #90850 by petermun on November 26, 2007 at 1:56 pm

I don't want to live in the bronze age - why is it that so many drongos do? OK so I've become an Islamophobe - but where's the counter evidence?

Other Comments by petermun

20. Comment #90853 by Fanusi Khiyal on November 26, 2007 at 2:02 pm

35bluejacket the phrase is "Let's nuke it. It's the only way to be sure." but, believe me, I know the feeling.

Other Comments by Fanusi Khiyal

21. Comment #90854 by Vinelectric on November 26, 2007 at 2:03 pm

The will not integrate - so why welcome them?

Governments don't usually run immigration schemes for charity. Not sure about Canada but definitely not the US and not the new system of Highly skilled migrants coming into the UK. So, you welcome them because you hope that there's some economic benefit to be made in the long run.

But I know what you're saying. Mutlitculturalism has proven to be counter productive.

Other Comments by Vinelectric

22. Comment #90856 by Vinelectric on November 26, 2007 at 2:06 pm

Fanusi
For FK's sake control yourself. That's what Bin Laden is thinking.

Other Comments by Vinelectric

23. Comment #90859 by justdust on November 26, 2007 at 2:13 pm

good grief

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24. Comment #90860 by Fanusi Khiyal on November 26, 2007 at 2:14 pm

Out of pure interest, are you utterly incable of recognising facetiouness?

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25. Comment #90866 by 35bluejacket on November 26, 2007 at 2:25 pm

Thanks Fanusi Khiyal. Constructive criticism is always good. That's the way we learn.

Relax people. I was just being facetious. Before the world evolves into peace you are going to need to recognize humor to keep your sanity. If you noticed, the Moslems don't seem to have any sense of humor.

Other Comments by 35bluejacket

26. Comment #90867 by jdb on November 26, 2007 at 2:26 pm

"It is seen as an insult to Islam to attempt to make an image of the Prophet Muhammad."

This is because they don't want the rest of the world to find out the truth: Mohammad was actually a cute fuzzy little teddy bear.
If the truth got out it might become difficult to get people to fill their pockets with roofing nails and blow themselves up on a crowded bus.

Other Comments by jdb

27. Comment #90868 by Szkeptik on November 26, 2007 at 2:26 pm

Incredible.
Whenever something like this happens it makes me want to insult islam badly.

Other Comments by Szkeptik

28. Comment #90872 by MonkeyTree2 on November 26, 2007 at 2:32 pm

The best we can hope for is that the British Government and the EU put pressure on the Sudan Government and she is simply extradited back to Britain

Other Comments by MonkeyTree2

29. Comment #90877 by Cartomancer on November 26, 2007 at 2:41 pm

I suspect they probably couldn't tolerate, or perhaps even understand, this strange western infidel concept of "voting" either. Now if she had said to the children "ok class, somebody come forward and lead a military coup to name the teddy bear" then it would have been fine and dandy.

This is why I loathe such people with boundless vehemence. IT'S CHOOSING A NAME FOR A BLOODY TEDDY BEAR! My mind simply cannot grasp what sort of mental software corruption has occurred in the people of the Sudan to make this happen. The rich irony is apparent also in the fact that, in the Middle Ages at least (I don't know if it still goes on today) it was traditional in most Islamic cultures (in some places even expected) to name one's firstborn son Mohammed.

The idea that ANYTHING, anything at all, should be protected from insults by law offends me to the core. The idea that such things as naming stuffed toys after someone counts as an insult is a vile and ridiculous travesty of human thought.

I make it a point these days to greviously offend every Muslim I meet in as imaginative and infuriating a way as possible to show my utter disdain for their cancerous religion and all its horrific intolerances. They must learn that respect is to be earned and politeness is entirely optional. If mankind started ignoring, accepting and even acknowledging in the insults it receives then all the world's problems would be solved tomorrow.

Other Comments by Cartomancer

30. Comment #90878 by drive1 on November 26, 2007 at 2:44 pm

The most shameful part? Probably this ..

The school has been closed until January for fear of reprisals.

Reprisals!?! Against 7 year olds and a stuffed toy?!? WTF?

Other Comments by drive1

31. Comment #90881 by decius on November 26, 2007 at 2:51 pm

Wasn't stoning to death the appropriate punishment for such sinful children?

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32. Comment #90887 by Agrajag on November 26, 2007 at 3:18 pm

I still don't understand why the devoutly religious must do the police work for their deity (in this case it's a so-called prophet, not an actual god). If someone offends, let the stones fall from heaven. These supposedly omnipotent entities seem pretty pathetic.
AJ

Other Comments by Agrajag

33. Comment #90898 by Haste on November 26, 2007 at 4:00 pm

I just find it really ridiculous. I mean, I live in a Muslim country myself and I just find news such as this as an embarassment to the religion. It gives people the wrong impression of Islam.From what I've experienced, Islam is not as bad as what most people think. It is a religion like any other religion (dunno if that's a good thing still, but oh well) The best of my friends are Muslims and they are not as extreme as these people they show regularly on the news. They are in fact very understanding and open to others views. But seriously, someone really needs to go up to the Sudans and tell them: 'that's not the point'.

Damn, religion's starting to turn really political.

I hate politics and politicians..

And I hate extremists. They're making the other nice lil angels of a Muslim seem really bad :( Conclusion: I love my Muslim friends, but I don't f*ckin' care about the rest so say whatever you want bout 'em :p gwahahahahahahahaha!!

Other Comments by Haste

34. Comment #90900 by kraut on November 26, 2007 at 4:05 pm

It is a religion like any other religion (dunno if that's a good thing still, but oh well)

No it is definetely not.
The bloodthirstyness that pervades this religion, the required abandonemnet of all reason and personal choice to subjugate yourself to allah - or whatever is unholy name is - is utter and complete.
Ther is no concept of love in this religion - that is what to some extend makes the christian non fundamentalists easier to live with - I have quite a few friends among them, who know my stance and still find association with me acceptable.

The worst expression of this no choice left subjugation is the demand to kill any and all apostates.

No, this religion has to be eliminated first - and then we work on the others.

Other Comments by kraut

35. Comment #90901 by Will in Aus on November 26, 2007 at 4:06 pm

What a joke! I mean, seriously, it's time someone put these people in their place. The UK should not put up with this. This was a woman who was presumably trying to help these kids, and she gets put in jail and threatened over something as trivial as naming a bear Muhammad! Have some balls Gordon, tell these idiots that you will no longer tolerate such absurd behavior. These people need to be stood up to, screw the respect for their stupid prophet, we need to get over tiptoeing around religion like it's a bomb waiting to go off (sorry...) and start acting like we give a sh*t about truth and freedom.

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36. Comment #90903 by headcold on November 26, 2007 at 4:11 pm

It's this kind of stuff that makes me like the idea of bombing the Jesus into a country. At least then they will have a religion in which interpreting a holy text is at least possible. Is it just hopeless? How many more thousands of years will it take for the moderate Muslims to grow some balls and fight back?

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37. Comment #90907 by Haste on November 26, 2007 at 4:17 pm

I'm sorry but I really feel like I have to defend this religion (I think I'm blinded by love, noooooo...)
I wouldnt blame anyone for being a islamophobia. News on Muslims bombing innocent people here and there keeps cropping up each day. But like I've said, I was brought up in a Muslim country and was taught the religion. I was never forced to join them in any way. They gave me the freedom to choose and the way the live their lives are so NOT like what has been described.
It was never in their religion to 'force'. It is your choice how you want to show your love to God (if He exists) And some just decided to cause chaos, sadly.
Yeah, extremists are f*ckin d*ckheads with a twisted logic. Islam never mentioned anything about being suicide bombers and killing off innocent people.

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38. Comment #90908 by Haste on November 26, 2007 at 4:24 pm

How many more thousands of years will it take for the moderate Muslims to grow some balls and fight back?

You know what, I agree with you. I mean come on! People are getting the wrong idea about ur religion so do something about it. At least help this innocent lady get off the hook you know. She's a goddamn teacher, the very profession you guys respect so much. F*ck, what is wrong with u people. And why am I getting all worked up bout this?
Must be the drink... Damn..

Other Comments by Haste

39. Comment #90913 by mnlandon on November 26, 2007 at 4:39 pm

I guess I have to cut Sudan out of my comedy tour.

"Jesus, Yahweh, and Muhammad walked into a bar...."

"No please don't stand up...you guys are a great audience"

Other Comments by mnlandon

40. Comment #90920 by nogodsever on November 26, 2007 at 4:55 pm

Mohammed can suck my dick.

Other Comments by nogodsever

41. Comment #90922 by Rtambree on November 26, 2007 at 4:58 pm

40. Comment #90920 by nogodsever

>Mohammed can suck my dick.

That would make Mohammed your bitch.

Other Comments by Rtambree

42. Comment #90923 by USA_Limey on November 26, 2007 at 4:59 pm

It's times like these I want this bomb on my head to go off.

Other Comments by USA_Limey

43. Comment #90930 by notsobad on November 26, 2007 at 5:25 pm

Don't forget that similarly ridiculous laws and cruel punishments were normal when the Clergy (co)ruled in Europe so it's not a coincidence.

celestial_T,
Muhammad was a real person (you can visit his tomb) that started the Islam con.

Other Comments by notsobad

44. Comment #90945 by dhudson0001 on November 26, 2007 at 6:53 pm

Don't do it Limey, we would hate to lose ya :)

Seriously though, for me, its times like these that I get the same damn familiar feeling- invariably accompanied by a thought that i have to put effort into pushing away, because I really, DONT believe it, but I can't help but ponder the idea that this is so asinine that it can't be REAL.

I must say I'm growing weary of the effort it takes to force myself to believe that people actually think this way.

Other Comments by dhudson0001

45. Comment #90957 by agg on November 26, 2007 at 7:50 pm

Haste, thanks for giving us your perspective. I have been wondering for a while if there is a selective bias in the information we tend to receive in the news these days about Islam, so I'd like to hear personal accounts as well.

Is it possible, though, that the people you grew up with subscribe to a particular version of Islam that is more moderate and therefore your view of this religion is shaped by a small (not representative?) sample?

Other Comments by agg

46. Comment #90967 by thelogogryph on November 26, 2007 at 8:39 pm

I'm amazed the teacher didn't realise the name wouldn't go over well when attached to a bear.

I don't say this to justify what's happening - it's absurd, pointless and depressing, without question, and people need to calm down - but, really, wouldn't you tread a bit more carefully in Sudan? I've taught abroad before, and whether you like it or not you try to be aware of the culture and adapt your actions to some extent.

In any case, I'd be very curious to read the reports from Sudan's media. I wonder if they will play this up or try to dilute whatever outrage is building.

Other Comments by thelogogryph

47. Comment #90973 by Paine on November 26, 2007 at 9:21 pm

Let's not get carried with all the generalisations about Muslims. I mean, the only reason these idiots do stuff like this is because they know they can get away with it.
They KNOW that they would never be prosecuted for targeting a Westerner in the name of god. It's a safe(from their view) outlet for all the abuse they've been getting for Darfur. It's not particularly religious, even.
For example, last year in Bangalore a 76-yr old actor called Rajkumar died of natural causes. Mobs of his fans went on a rampage, smashing windows, burning buses and killing the odd bystander. They shut down the city for 3 days. They said it was a 'spontaneous outpouring of grief' and anger that people 'were not mourning enough'.
Official reaction was indifferent because no politician wanted to appear unpopular and risk losing votes.
Remember, this was not some medieval hinterland but the most advanced city of the largest secular democracy in the world. Anthropologists can speculate about the causes( income gaps, class resentment etc.), but it shows that there is a lot of craziness around, and religion does not have a monopoly of it.

Other Comments by Paine

48. Comment #90986 by 35bluejacket on November 26, 2007 at 10:11 pm

Haste: Hang in there. Do your best. We have something in common: We love humanity.

Other Comments by 35bluejacket

49. Comment #90994 by 35bluejacket on November 26, 2007 at 10:26 pm

Paine: Thanks for even more depressing news:( Where is my spiced rum?

Other Comments by 35bluejacket

50. Comment #91000 by kraut on November 26, 2007 at 11:08 pm

"'m sorry but I really feel like I have to defend this religion (I think I'm blinded by love, noooooo...)
I wouldnt blame anyone for being a islamophobia"

No, do not defend this religion, do not defend any religion. They are the enemy of reason and humanity, a scourge on human dignity for thousands of years.
There can be only one solution - destroy all religions. It is a fight for survival and it is a fight against those who use religion as a means to keep in power, to keep in power by any means possible.

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