Monday, November 26, 2007

British Teacher Arrested In Sudan Over Teddy Bear Named "Mohammed"


The students named the bear, not the teacher. But now, because of the elegance of Islamic logic, the teacher is in trouble.

Islamic "culture" is a fucking joke, an oxymoron. Oh wait, how can I say that, they do create beautiful mosaics. But alas, a mosaic does not a culture make.

From the UK daily Telegraph (with thanks to Najistani):


A British teacher has been arrested in Sudan for allowing her seven-year-old students to name a teddy bear Mohammed, the British Embassy said.

Gillian Gibbons was detained yesterday on suspicion of insulting the Prophet Mohammed.

Colleagues of the 54-year-old teacher from Liverpool told Reuters they feared for her safety after receiving reports that young men were gathering outside the Khartoum police station where she was being held.

A spokesman for the British Embassy in Khartoum said: "The children chose the name because it is very common here.

"This happened in September and the parents did not have a problem with it.

"We are in contact with the authorities here and they have visited the teacher and she is in a good condition."

Robert Boulos, the director of the school, told Reuters that Ms Gibbons set up the project as part of a British National Curriculum course to learn about animals. This year's animal was the bear, and Ms Gibbons asked the children to name the stuffed toy.

Mr Boulos said the children came up with eight names including Abdullah and Hassan, but Mohammed proved by far the most popular.

Each child was given a chance to take the bear home and write a diary about what they did with the toy, Mr Boulos told Reuters.

The website for the Sudanese Media Centre, which has close ties with the country's government, reported that Mrs Gibbons could be prosecuted under "faith and religions" legislation.

It states: "Khartoum attorney office opens a claim under article 125 of the criminal law (insult of faith and religions) against a British national female teacher named Julian (sic) working for unruly school in Khartoum.


Najistani comments:


So what have the prophet and a teddy bear got in common?

Cotton-wool for a brain?

Going to bed with children?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This would never have happened if Sudan had declared jihad on Teddy Bears like Saudi Arabia. http://www.guardian.co.uk/saudi/story/0,11599,1109291,00.html

Teddy Bears, like statues of Buddha, are banned in case someone might use them to set up a rival religion to Islam.

Bob said...

I hear comments like, she should have had more common sense .. its common sense that got her in trouble.
There is no common sense in Religion .. in fact there is no sense. You have to believe in what one or a few say without question and with absolutely no evidence. To make it worse, then a few others interpret what you are supposed to believe in.
All religions are fundamental or fanatical .. its not even degrees. Why? because none of it is true ... it cant be and even if it was only one can be right and the others being wrong.