Culture

British teacher charged with insulting Islam in teddy bear 'Muhammad' row

by TheBigRuski | November 28, 2007 at 09:13 am

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This just in: Gillian Gibbons will face charges of insulting Islam after she allowed students in Sudan to name a teddy bear Mohammed.

"Khartoum north prosecution unit has completed its investigation and has charged the Briton Gillian (Gibbons) under Article 125 of the criminal code," SUNA, the Sudanese news agency, says according to Reuters. (Click here for the backstory from yesterday's edition of On Deadline.)

CNN says Gibbons, 54, is expected appear in court tomorrow. "Tomorrow the case will be transferred to the court. A panel of judges will charge the defendant in this case," prosecutor Salaheddin Abu Zaid tells SUNA, according to AFP.

If convicted, Sky News says the British national could receive up to 40 lashes and six months in jail. AFP says she faces a possible sedition charge, too.

"This is a very sensitive issue. We are very worried about her safety. This was a completely innocent mistake," Robert Boulos, her boss at Unity High School in Khartoum, tells BBC News.

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DoctorOk

at 10:38 on November 28th, 2007

The actions of the Sudanese authorities relating to this incident are outrageous. It amazes me that the Sudanese authorities can raise such heightened concern about naming a teddy bear Mohammed (a common and endearing name in the Islamic world) while ignoring their own genocidal complicity in the Darfur.

This is yet another example of uneducated, theocratic, and misguided zeal where human energies would be better served to improve society rather than smothering its intellectual growth, logic, and rationale with empty demonstrations of piety.

In protest, I'm going to name my kitty Mohammed while I whisper sweet nothings into her ear. Take that Sudanese authorities!

TheBigRuski

at 11:16 on November 28th, 2007

^ good one! ...or "Muhammad" as reported being the student's name. The student whose name was used for the teddy bear...not the prophet, as many Muslims would like to interpret the story.