Teacher arrested for calling Teddy 'Mohammed'

babyguinnessfan

A British teacher has been arrested in Sudan for letting her children name a teddy bear Mohammed, the British Embassy in Sudan said today.

Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was detained yesterday on suspicion of insulting Islam’s prophet.

The teacher let her class of seven-years-olds choose the name as part of a school project.

A British Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We can confirm a British national was arrested by police in Sudan yesterday. We are providing consular assistance.”

What?? I'm not trying to start a religious debate here. I just didn't know that you couldn't name something or someone Mohammed. I know people called Mohammed and they are of Islamic faith. Can someone explain?

Robbo

It's political correctness gone maaaa-ha-ha-had.

drdre

babyguinnessfan wrote: »

What?? I'm not trying to start a religious debate here. I just didn't know that you couldn't name something or someone Mohammed. I know people called Mohammed and they are of Islamic faith. Can someone explain?

Im muslim and really dont understand this.Its only a teddy.I under stand why muslims got annoyed when the cartoons were published but i think this is over the top.

babyguinnessfan

Yes - this isn't making fun of anything...just a very common name being used by a bunch of seven year olds!

Dave!

babyguinnessfan wrote: »

What?? I'm not trying to start a religious debate here. I just didn't know that you couldn't name something or someone Mohammed. I know people called Mohammed and they are of Islamic faith. Can someone explain?

Maybe it's something to do with idolatry and physical representations of Muhammed not being allowed in Islam... no pictures, statues, etc. -- I'm assuming this extends to teddy bears! And the authorities, in their wisdom, took it that the teddy was supposed to represent the prophet, and arrested the teacher accordingly.

biko

She was detained under Sudan anti terrorism act. Now Sudanese Jack Bauer has 24 hours to find the teddy hidden under the city.

ScumLord

How dare they question the teddy! Bow down before your teddy lest ye suffer he's wrath.

watna

In fairness, while I obviously think this is madness I don't think too many parents etc would be happy if a class of 6 year olds here decided to name their teddy Jesus. I mean the teacher wouldn't get arrested or anything but it would be a very strange name for a teddy!

nyarlothothep

that is so stupid

Laslo

watna wrote: »

I obviously think this is madness

Actually, I think you'll find that this is Sparta.

EamonnKeane

But no-one is called Jesus (in Northern Europe anyway), whereas there are millions of Muhammads. I mean, if a teddy were called Mary, Peter, Joseph or John in a Christian school, nobody would care.

Pompey Magnus

This is a disgrace, they only arrested the mother? It was the children named the teddy bear after Mohammed (Peace be upon him), why are the authorities being so lenient and letting the true criminals and blasphemors off the hook?

aidan_walsh

they only arrested the mother?

Teacher.

subway

watna wrote: »

I don't think too many parents etc would be happy if a class of 6 year olds here decided to name their teddy Jesus.

im sure it would go down fine in spain

watna

subway wrote: »

im sure it would go down fine in spain

That's true. I think more people here should be called Jesus. It's be cool. You'd stub your tow and shout "Jesus" and then he'd appear and say yes, you called me!

fatboypee

I'm confused.

Is it culture, educational poverty, religious zealots? what ? Culture of control or fear ? Or simply poverty.... This has the wider implications of fanaticism written all over it (like the cartoons etc), and i remain confused...

Why is this issue seen as sooooooo important? because the letter of the law is based around the book that is the pivot of the religion?

If I were the teacher, I'd RUAFO (rev up, F.Off) out of there and would'nt go back... and, regardless of all the humanitarian issues etc etc, I'd take everyone else I could with me....

FBP.

Reku

watna wrote: »

In fairness, while I obviously think this is madness I don't think too many parents etc would be happy if a class of 6 year olds here decided to name their teddy Jesus. I mean the teacher wouldn't get arrested or anything but it would be a very strange name for a teddy!

Actually I've been repeatedly told by a co-worker from the US that in Mexico Jesus is not that uncommon a name (though the J is pronounced as a "H" like it would be in Spain) so it is conceiveable that children there may choose such a name for a teddy.

Stercus Accidit

Bear faced cheek of them 7 year olds.

Lands Leaving

Has this seven year old gotten off scot-free? It was her picking the name. Bloody children always causin trouble

Robbo

Depeche_Mode wrote: »

This is a disgrace, they only arrested the mother? It was the children named the teddy bear after Mohammed (Peace be upon him), why are the authorities being so lenient and letting the true criminals and blasphemors off the hook?

Oh, I think the Sudanese will be firm enough with "real criminals" thanks to Sharia law.

Dudess

fatboypee wrote: »

I'm confused.

Is it culture, educational poverty, religious zealots? what ? Culture of control or fear ? Or simply poverty.... This has the wider implications of fanaticism written all over it (like the cartoons etc), and i remain confused...

Why is this issue seen as sooooooo important? because the letter of the law is based around the book that is the pivot of the religion?

If I were the teacher, I'd RUAFO (rev up, F.Off) out of there and would'nt go back... and, regardless of all the humanitarian issues etc etc, I'd take everyone else I could with me....

FBP.

Ah leave off. It's their culture... etc.

babyguinnessfan

Dudess wrote: »

Ah leave off. It's their culture... etc.

Exactly, don't let this descend into a religion-bashing thread. I was just looking for some explanation as to why this naming of the teddy was taken so far by the authorities because I don't know a huge amount about the intricacies of Islam. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out...

Dave!

I got a whiff of sarcasm from Dudess's post there!

fatboypee

babyguinnessfan wrote: »

Exactly, don't let this descend into a religion-bashing thread. I was just looking for some explanation as to why this naming of the teddy was taken so far by the authorities because I don't know a huge amount about the intricacies of Islam. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out...

I'm not bashing any religion. Far from it. This is my point:

If I were the teacher, I'd RUAFO (rev up, F.Off) out of there and would'nt go back... and, regardless of all the humanitarian issues etc etc, I'd take everyone else I could with me....

FBP.

rcs

watna wrote: »

I think more people here should be called Jesus. It's be cool.

Yeah, you'd have to give them a middle name of Harry or somethin!

Jesus H that's a terrible thing to say!

jor el

EamonnKeane wrote: »

But no-one is called Jesus (in Northern Europe anyway)

I know a man called Jesus, two actually. I also know another man named Mary. I had a lecturer in college called Mohammad.

This is another stupid case of someone with a little bit of power trying to exert themselves to make them seem bigger. Hopefully common sense will prevail and the teacher will be released, unwhipped.

rcs wrote:

Yeah, you'd have to give them a middle name of Harry or somethin!

Only made better if his surname was Christopher or Christos. If only there were some parents out there with a sense of humor (and the surname Christopher or Christos).

ejmaztec

We got the evil-eye from the local staunch RCs for calling our dog "Bosco"! I'm sure that they would have had us stoned to death, or whatever.

keano_afc

I'm a Christian and I work with a guy called Jesus. He's Spanish. First thing in the morning I'm telling him its offensive.:p

BrokenArrows

You just know that those kids were out in the playground plotting the most diabolically evil plan to get rid of their teacher.

Kids: "We will call the teddy Mohammad and then drop a quick call to the police claiming that the teacher is mocking our prophet"

So simple, so perfect.

But on a more serious note i talk to people called Mohammad all the time on the phone (i work as a tech support agent for hotels and restaurants) there are loads of mohammads in the uk.

Dudess

babyguinnessfan wrote: »

Exactly, don't let this descend into a religion-bashing thread.

Being critical of such a harsh system is certainly not religion-bashing.

Latchy

A British teacher has been arrested in Sudan for letting her children name a teddy bear Mohammed, the British Embassy in Sudan said today.

Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was detained yesterday on suspicion of insulting Islam’s prophet.

The teacher let her class of seven-years-olds choose the name as part of a school project.

A British Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We can confirm a British national was arrested by police in Sudan yesterday. We are providing consular assistance.”

The lady in question up to six months ago was a former teacher at my daughters school in Liverpool and i spoke to her many times .Such a shock to realise it was her on the news .

ejmaztec

They shouldn't send any more aid to Sudan until they get themselves a sense of humour.

Steyr

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7112929.stm


'Muhammad' teddy teacher arrested

Gillian Gibbons is described as "a talented and able teacher "
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.

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.

I know Gillian and she would never have meant it as an insult. I was just impressed that she got them to vote

Muslim colleague in Sudan

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.


Gillian Gibbons had been working in Khartoum since August

"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.

_________________________________________________________________

Jesus Christ, whatever next!

If however the facts presented are true and the story is simply that a teacher may be given 40 lashes or even imprisoned for simply allowing the children she teaches to call a class cuddly toy Mohammad then I am firstly completley speechless but then in the same thought not at all surprised!

I expect at some point now there will be seen an uprising of public hatred, firstly directed against this poor woman and how she has disrespected the basic fundamentals of islam and then furthermore by the fact that she is English and then the fact she is female and finally that she is western. This will inevatably lead to the compulsery burning of flags, effagies of western leaders and maybe even the woman herslef by mobs numbering in there thousands all calling for her blood.

If this is the way the next generation of islamic childern are being raised I hold out not much hope for a peacful future!

This has angered me no end and they come over here yet dont respect us and so many people in the west do so much to accommodate them to the point where its PC Madness...

Rb

EamonnKeane wrote: »

But no-one is called Jesus (in Northern Europe anyway).

Sinead OConnors latest child is called Jesus.

Bottle_of_Smoke

Should try & get every mosque in England to complain. They might listen to them

This is utterly ridiculous, you can call a child Mohammed but not a bear. F*cking nonsense though it is a rather f*cked up country.

Tha Gopher

babyguinnessfan wrote: »

I know people called Mohammed and they are of Islamic faith.

All of them?

Wow. And I thought Mo the Bangladeshi guy in work was Jewish


Out of curiousity did the church in Ireland discourage naming kids Jesus, that it was like a reserved name?

Didnt stop them approving of Attractas, Conceptas, Assumptas *insert 50 more oul ones names ending in"ta" *

Terry

I've been thinking about getting a dog for a while now.
I was going to call it "Butthead", but now I'm going to call it "Mohammed".
Then I'm going to get some video clips of it humping other dogs, marking its territory, chasing parked cars etc. You know. The stuff dogs usually do.
Then I'm going to put the video clips on youtube and wait for the shít to hit the fan.

If I'm killed by some lunatic in the next year or so, then feel free to sell the link to this post to some tabloid.

Hobbes

DaveMcG wrote: »

Maybe it's something to do with idolatry and physical representations of Muhammed not being allowed in Islam...

That is probably what it is. Bloody stupid arresting someone over it though.

rb_ie wrote: »

Sinead OConnors latest child is called Jesus.

Very common spanish name (pronounced hey-zeus).

Reku

Wow, this incident has been VERY educational to me, her crime is that the teddy named Muhammad is an image of their prophet, and all this time I thought they were worshipping a man, turns out it was Gentle Ben all along!:eek:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentle_Ben.... for those too young to remember...

Hagar

If the teddy bear rapes her she's a goner, 200 extra lashes.

Jumpy

Laslo wrote: »

Actually, I think you'll find that this is Sparta.

I want to have your babies.

donaghs

Just read the BBC saying she could get 40 lashes for this.

I was going to jokingly going to suggest she be let off with a slap of 40 lashes on the wrists (like in Saudi), but they're always one step ahead of you....

babyguinnessfan

Tha Gopher wrote: »

All of them?

Wow. And I thought Mo the Bangladeshi guy in work was Jewish

Yep - I know them personally. Confusion over?

RandolphEsq

Whilst I respect and defend the right to practice religion, I also strongly object to the type of religious states in the East. As a result of the state being run by religion it deprives the citizens of free thought and subsequent freedom of expression. They are not truly 'free' as much as those in a 'limited-intervening-government' type of society. The society is wound up too tight.
The people are brainwashed by the religion so cannot therefore 'think outside the box'; the box being the logic preached by religion. The sad thing is that the people of these religious-run countries are not even aware of their deprivation.

marcsignal

donaghs wrote: »

Just read the BBC saying she could get 40 lashes for this.

Hagar wrote: »

If the teddy bear rapes her she's a goner, 200 extra lashes.

So that'll be 241 altogether, if you include the one the Teddy Bear gives her :D:D

jahalpin

It's a disgrace that the UK is allowing one of their citizens be treated this way over something so trivial and stupid.

This is similar to the case of the woman that was gang-raped in Saudi Arabia and is to be lashed over it.

It's about time that the Western powers stood up to these backward sexist dictatorships instead of propping them up

I know that the reason that they do this is because the countries have oil which is necessary for the Western economies, however they could invade these countries to protect the supply and to improve the standard of living for the population

Hagar

LOL What a spanner. :D:D
I posted in the wrong forum.
Sorry, Carry on.

fly_agaric

jahalpin wrote: »

It's about time that the Western powers stood up to these backward sexist dictatorships instead of propping them up

Unlike with Saudi Arabia, China props Sudan up. Not "the West".


I don't think the govt. in Sudan could give a monkies about what "the West" or the heathens who live there think about anything they do.

Steyr

jahalpin wrote: »

It's a disgrace that the UK is allowing one of their citizens be treated this way over something so trivial and stupid.

This is similar to the case of the woman that was gang-raped in Saudi Arabia and is to be lashed over it.

It's about time that the Western powers stood up to these backward sexist dictatorships instead of propping them up

I know that the reason that they do this is because the countries have oil which is necessary for the Western economies, however they could invade these countries to protect the supply and to improve the standard of living for the population

Damn right i think a few MOAB's would go down well!

Robbo

BrightEyes wrote: »

The people are brainwashed by the religion so cannot therefore 'think outside the box';

I support any religious regime that brainwashes people into forgetting clichéd management speak.

"I need to touch base with you on that"....BAM...straight into the re-education camp.

Demonique

Muslims have no problem with people naming their kids Mohammed, its seen as an honour and a sign of respect to the Prophet.

I'm not sure about teddy bears, tho