British Teacher Arrested in Sudan For naming Bear Muhammad

Author

Message

Please Register and Login to this forum to stop seeing this advertsing.

Add Karma

rated by members
Add Comment
Show Comments

Posted: Post subject:

buddha
Regular Member

Joined: 27 Nov 2007
Posts: 33

Location: USA
Add Karma

rated by members
Add Comment
Show Comments

Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 4:59 pm Post subject: British Teacher Arrested in Sudan For naming Bear Muhammad

British Teacher Arrested in Sudan For Nicknaming Teddy-Bear Muhammad

Quote:

'Muhammad' teddy teacher arrested
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.
"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.
They came up with eight names including Abdullah, Hassan and Muhammad
Robert Boulos
Director of Unity High School

"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.

Raza
Regular Member

Joined: 22 Nov 2007
Posts: 77

Location: Canada
Add Karma

rated by members
Add Comment
Show Comments

Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 5:10 pm Post subject:

Pathetic people, thousands of people dying in Africa and they are spending on this pathetic court hearing.

All_Brains
Master Administrator

Joined: 15 Nov 2007
Posts: 630

Add Karma

rated by members
Add Comment
Show Comments

Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 5:12 pm Post subject:

cooolway wrote:

Pathetic people, thousands of people dying in Africa and they are spending on this pathetic court hearing.

Now you're talking. Welcome to humanity!

_________________
A little boy prayed for a bike. Then he realized God doesn't work that way so he stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.
www.all-brains.blogspot.com

Yep-Yep-Yep
New Member

Joined: 30 Nov 2007
Posts: 17

Location: Australia
Add Karma

rated by members
Add Comment
Show Comments

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 11:01 am Post subject:

Damn.......Sorry AB....I should have added my story to this thread. Would you believe I didn't see your thread. Yes, I know there were only three there.....kinda worries me that I missed it.

All_Brains
Master Administrator

Joined: 15 Nov 2007
Posts: 630

Add Karma

rated by members
Add Comment
Show Comments

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 11:29 am Post subject:

Yep-Yep-Yep wrote:

Damn.......Sorry AB....I should have added my story to this thread.
Would you believe I didn't see your thread. Yes, I know there were only three there.....kinda worries me that I missed it.

That's cool! I will forgive, for you have the cutest avatar!

_________________
A little boy prayed for a bike. Then he realized God doesn't work that way so he stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.
www.all-brains.blogspot.com

buddha
Regular Member

Joined: 27 Nov 2007
Posts: 33

Location: USA
Add Karma

rated by members
Add Comment
Show Comments

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 3:48 pm Post subject:

Raza wrote:

Pathetic people, thousands of people dying in Africa and they are spending on this pathetic court hearing.

So on this forum, you have common sense but not the other forum ?

FREE FAITH, EXPRESSION AND THOUGHT