'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 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.

"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.

Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7112929.stm)

Fucking Asshole Muslims...

:newburn:
:fly:
:mod:

Yeah, I read about this elsewheres yesterday or the day before. The teacher didn't even name the friggin bear, the students did. But Sudan is the buttcrack of the muslim nations. I can give you a list of the other countries to avoid...

Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Burkina Faso
Brunei
Chad
Comoros
Côte d'Ivoire
Djibouti
Ethiopia (arguable, as it's 50% muslim)
Eritrea
Egypt
Gambia
Guinea
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Lebanon
Libya
Maldives
Malaysia
Mali
Mauritania
Morocco
Niger
Nigeria
Oman
Pakistan
Palestine
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Sudan
Syria
Tajikistan
Turkey
Tunisia
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
United Arab Emirates
Yemen


The ones in bold are the really super-religious ones. Stay out of (or get out of) those countries in particular.

just 40 lashs jeez their going soft,in the states if you name the teddy bushraeli you would get tasered then thrown in to gitmo and never heard of again :nutkick:

These kids are drilled in the teachings of Islam constantly, right? So, I'd think that by the time they're 8, they'd be taught that anything that could be considered an image representation of the prophet was a sin.

I say we lash and jail the kids, it's all fair by Islamic law, and it was their choice to name the bear. Last I checked, Islamic law had no regulations barring kids from being punished by the same law as their parents.

ho my ho my ho my ! naming a puppet is an insult ! What a bunch of morons !
where will this stop ? next speaking another language will be as well !!!

I took a dump this morning, I decided it should be named Muhammad. Do you think anyone will mind?

I took a dump this morning, I decided it should be named Muhammad. Do you think anyone will mind?

Send pics to al jazeera and let's find out

It's a fucking teddy bear, now if they named a stuffed weasel, or a snake, or even a dung beetle, I could see some implied insult, even a dog.

A bunch of 8 year old kids decide that their favourite name is the name of the founder of their religion, surely instead of beating up the teacher the authorities should be pleased that their brainwashing obviously works and the kids love the prophet!!

OK this is ridiculous. Radical muslims who are reading this get your whips out because I've got a blasphemous bit of office ware sitting right next to me. Except your going to have to dig me out of my well-fortified, IED-proof basement workstation to get it or me.

This is a picture of my official Islamic Prophet Muhammed ashtray. It's sitting right beside me as it does every day. It belonged to my grandfather who was professor of religion at an Ivy League school here in America (Land of the Free BTW). A long time ago he picked it up in some foreign land where they worship Muslim-style. I think it was in Iran - back when they were cool with us (which was a LONG time ago). So now it's sitting next to me, stylin' my cigarette butts or car keys or cat shit or whatever I want to put on it. Because like that teddy bear it's MINE and I can so with it what I want. It has a bunch of islamic words written on it but I can't read it so maybe if I'm superstitious I'll drive to Detroit and a decent, non-bomber Muslim can translate it for me. There are plenty out there. Muslims here get a bad rap but hey - it's not like they can't tell their loudmouth bretheren to shut the hell up already and quit the jihad.

And on that note I'll put out my cigarrette on old Muhammed's face right now.

http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/3146/muhammedashtraypic005kb2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

ironic..... there are ppl called with the same prophet;s name and do unimaginable stuff...yet naming a cuddly piece of wool is offensive?

I love how you all sit in your own country and judge other peoples laws that you have no idea about. It might be okay to take the Lords name in vain in America, but in the Sudan they take that seriously. DEAD SERIOUSLY!

Anytime ANY religion takes itself, as you put it DEAD SERIOUSLY, then that religion is in the wrong. Christians did it (crusades, witch hunts), and they were WRONG. If every christian was a religious zealot, then all gay people would be dead too. So would any man who ever jacked off. So would any woman who slept with a man before marriage. The world's population would probably be in the low 100's by now.

TOO MUCH of anything (religion in particular) is a BAD thing. Learn some mutha fooken temperance, bitches.

KHARTOUM, Sudan (CNN) -- A Sudanese court found a British teacher guilty of insulting religion and sentenced her to 15 days in prison Thursday for allowing a teddy bear to be named "Mohammed," British authorities and her lawyer reported.

Gillian Gibbons also faces deportation from Sudan after her prison term, her lawyer told CNN.

He said that he was "very disappointed" with the verdict and that Gibbons planned to appeal.

Gibbons was not convicted of two other charges brought against her -- inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs, her lawyer said.

Gibbons, 54, was arrested Sunday after she asked her class of 7-year-olds in Khartoum to name the stuffed animal as part of a school project, the British Foreign Office said. She had faced charges under Article 125 of Sudan's constitution, the law relating to insulting religion and inciting hatred.

Although there is no ban in the Quran on images of Allah or the Prophet Mohammed, Islam's founder, likenesses are considered highly offensive by Muslims.

Appearing somber and dazed, Gibbons arrived at the central courthouse in Khartoum for her closed hearing early Thursday. A staff member from the British Embassy in Khartoum and defense lawyers attended the hearing with her.

The courthouse was heavily guarded by police, who kept journalists -- and, for a while, even one of her attorneys -- away.

Gibbons could have faced a sentence of 40 lashes, a fine, or a jail term of up to a year, according to the Foreign Office, which expressed Britain's dissatisfaction with the verdict.

"We are extremely disappointed that the charges against Gillian Gibbons were not dismissed," Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement issued shortly after the verdict was announced.

"As I said this morning, our clear view is that this is an innocent misunderstanding by a dedicated teacher. Our priority now is to ensure Ms. Gibbons' welfare, and we will continue to provide consular assistance to her. I have called in the Sudanese ambassador, Omer Siddig, this evening to explain the decision and discuss next steps."

The Foreign Office said Gibbons would be given credit for the four days since her arrest, meaning that the she has 11 days remaining on her sentence.

Earlier, Miliband had met with Siddig, who was summoned to the Foreign Office in London.

"I explained to him that we were very concerned by the case. We believe that this was an innocent misunderstanding," Miliband said in a statement released Thursday after the meeting.

"The Sudanese ambassador undertook to ensure our concerns were relayed to Khartoum at the highest level. He also said he would reflect back to Khartoum the real respect for the Islamic religion in this country," the statement added.

On the first floor of the courthouse, around 25 police linked arms and forced journalists and British officials away from the court entrance. Police detained some journalists, and confiscated a camera belonging to a freelance CNN cameraman.

Four vans filled with riot police were waiting outside the courthouse, but there were no signs of street disturbances or protests. Staff from Gibbons' school, including Robert Boulos, the head of Unity High School, were present. The staff members refused to comment on their colleague's predicament.

On Wednesday, Boulos said he was "horrified" when he found out that the complaint about the naming of the bear came from a member of his own staff -- not from a parent, as originally thought. Defense counsel later confirmed that the complaint came from Sarah Khawad, a secretary at the school.
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Gibbons has been working at the school -- popular with wealthy Sudanese and expatriates -- since August, after leaving her position as deputy head teacher at a primary school in Liverpool, England, this summer, Boulos said.

He said Gibbons asked the children to pick their favorite name for the new class mascot, which she was using to aid lessons about animals and their habitats.

SOURCE (http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/11/29/sudan.bears/index.html)

Long story short, she gets 15 days in jail, then deportation, no lashes.

Anytime ANY religion takes itself, as you put it DEAD SERIOUSLY, then that religion is in the wrong. Christians did it (crusades, witch hunts), and they were WRONG. If every christian was a religious zealot, then all gay people would be dead too. So would any man who ever jacked off. So would any woman who slept with a man before marriage. The world's population would probably be in the low 100's by now.
This is one of the single most retarded block of texts I've ever read. I was joking in my post, and I hope for the sake of all that's holy you were joking as well. Seriously.

so now...what happens to the teddy? I guess it should now be revered? i dunno maybe throw in a bomb-belt around it and send it for a suicide mission? i'd love to how those virgins handle the teddy after that.

Hehehe. Yeah, I was using an extreme example to make a point. They did use to crucify the gay peoples though (although that was centuries and centuries ago)

To be continued....

KHARTOUM, Sudan (CNN) -- Hundreds of angry protesters, some waving ceremonial swords from trucks equipped with loud speakers, gathered Friday outside the presidential palace to denounce a teacher whose class named a teddy bear "Mohammed" -- some calling for her execution.
art.gillian.gibbons.jpg


The protesters, which witnesses said numbered close to 1,000, swore to fight in the name of their prophet.

Gillian Gibbons, 54, was given 15 days in jail late Thursday after she was convicted of insulting religion. She was cleared of charges of inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs, her lawyer, Ali Ajeb, said.

Ajeb said they planned to appeal the sentence, which begins from the date she was detained, Nov. 25. Including Friday, she has 10 more days in jail.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he was "extremely disappointed" that the charges were not dismissed.

Meanwhile senior British lawmakers were en route to Khartoum to try to secure Gibbons' early release.

Update (http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/11/30/sudan.bears/?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail)

The children probably meant no harm. The teacher probably meant no harm. I just wonder how many of the kids in the class or school have "Mohammed" in their name. Almost like some of the Mexican kids having "Jesus" in their name. I once made a comment in class about a name tag on a book bag being put on by a little Mexican guy at the end of the line. The one Hispanic student was ready to sue the school over my comment. I had to apologize to him and his parents. I thought the USA had a Freedom of Speech somewhere in the Constitution that allows us to say what we want, when we want. Offensive? Maybe. Taken way out of context? Absolutely.

WTF is wrong with these people??

The children probably meant no harm. The teacher probably meant no harm.
Muhammed is the only one who means harm.

I thought the USA had a Freedom of Speech somewhere in the Constitution that allows us to say what we want, when we want.

Only if you're not white. They seem to have forgotten to edit how the Constitution reads lately. Can't say it's much better in Canada. And you know that if it was any teacher who was black, asian, indian, or latino, there would've been no issue over it.

Muhammed is the only one who means harm.

I agree Noob.

Only if you're not white. They seem to have forgotten to edit how the Constitution reads lately. Can't say it's much better in Canada. And you know that if it was any teacher who was black, asian, indian, or latino, there would've been no issue over it.My students call each other the N-word, no big deal. But, if I said it, it could be my job. Scary absolutely scary.

The thought of an old man becoming aroused by a child is one of the most disturbing thoughts that makes us cringe as it reminds us of pedophilia and the most despicable people. It is difficult to accept that the Holy Prophet married Aisha when she was 6-years-old and consummated his marriage with her when she was 9. He was then, 54 years old. (http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/sina/ayesha.htm)


interesting read..... (click on the quote abovehuh)

i guess they dont want kids cuddling with bears named after their prophet??

Well at least we have one level headed person trying to smooth things over...

U.S. evangelist launches swine attack on Muslims
Outraged by Muhammad teddy bear flap, minister names pig after Islamic prophet (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58996)

Posted: December 2, 2007
5:44 p.m. Eastern

By Joe Kovacs
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

An American evangelist has jumped into the fray over the fate of a British teacher facing calls for death over a teddy bear named "Muhammad."

Bill Keller, host of LivePrayer, has posted a video on YouTube featuring a pink, toy pig named Muhammad after the Muslim prophet.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images2/kellerspig.jpg




WND Exclusive GLOBAL JIHAD
U.S. evangelist launches swine attack on Muslims
Outraged by Muhammad teddy bear flap, minister names pig after Islamic prophet
Posted: December 2, 2007
5:44 p.m. Eastern

By Joe Kovacs
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

An American evangelist has jumped into the fray over the fate of a British teacher facing calls for death over a teddy bear named "Muhammad."

Bill Keller, host of LivePrayer, has posted a video on YouTube featuring a pink, toy pig named Muhammad after the Muslim prophet.


Bill Keller of LivePrayer has named this toy pig after the Muslim prophet

"Indeed Muhammad was a man of murder," the pig, voiced by Keller himself, states in the video. "He was a pedophile, having a wife at the age of six. And I came to find out that the Quran really is nothing more than a book of fairy tales."

Keller, a vocal critic of Islam, made the video in response to the case of Gillian Gibbons, who was sentenced to 15 days in a Sudan jail after being convicted of insulting Islam for allowing her student to call a teddy bear "Muhammad."

Gibbons was moved to a secure location in Khartoum last week after street demonstrators called for her death.

If Gibbons had been found guilty of inciting religious hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs, her sentence could have been 40 lashes and up to six months of prison.

Muhammad is the most popular boys' name in Sudan, and it has since been revealed the teddy bear was actually named by one of Gibbons' students.

In his latest devotional being sent to his subscribers, Keller states:
Of course there will be Muslim apologists who say that these are only the extremists, just like they try to distance themselves from their brothers in this "peaceful religion" who flew the planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the one intended for the Capitol building that was crashed in a Pennsylvania field by some real American heroes. ...

These people are not about love or peace or unity. They are about one thing. Converting the world to their false religion and those who get in their way or who refuse to follow their lies will be silenced and killed. The word "Islam" literally means "submission." Maybe you don't understand what it means when their "holy book" says "death to all infidels."
"Bill Keller's pink pig is a terrific tribute to Muhammad!" said WND reader Stephen Mayfield. "If only we could load B-52's with a week's take of Farmer John's swine intestines, and bombs-away them over Khartoum."

Another WND reader, Clay Hestilow, took the opposite view, stating, "Senseless. Ignorant. Hateful. This 'minister' is a poor representation of the love that Christ has for all of mankind."

im not a reilgious fooker but he states the quran is a book of fairy tales yet he believes and preachs christianity.
virgin mary jeez :nutkick:

im not a reilgious fooker but he states the quran is a book of fairy tales yet he believes and preachs christianity.
virgin mary jeez :nutkick:

BINGO! On top of that... Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet.

Also... they let her go: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/12/03/sudan.teacher/