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I just wanted to see what the feeling was of the British teacher who is in a jail in Sudan for allowing the 6-7 year old children in her class to name him Mohammed. Just the other day on the news I heard that they (Sudan) were not getting any support in comparison to the whole Danish comic strip last year (which was horrendous and caused much distress). This didnt look very good for the Sudanese when people started saying they were overreacting. Then after friday prayer a crowd of over a thousand started chanting that she(Gillian Gibbons) should be beheaded!!!! Does it seem that there is something else at work here apart from outrage (they werent outraged yesterday or even this morning!!!) like maybe trying to save face......No one really seemed to be that bothered.....ok maybe not such a good idea to name anything after any prophet (without double checking with your superiors, especially whilst in another country) but these are children and they revere their prophet so they were asked whats a good name, well there isnt a better name in Islam than Mohammed!!. Surely there was a better way of dealing with it? Is this a valid reason for beheading someone?
It is very easy for us to not comprehend the rationale behind this way of thinking when you consider our culture is so very different from the Sudanese. Our way of thinking is completely different. But to condemn the entire Islamic world over this incident isn't really fair cianci. This situation, after all, occured in a country that is in a region of great unrest. As Kiki has noted, she is Moslem and she doesn't understand it. So, with that, you have some insight that not all Moslems feel the way those in that particular region feel.
It's a teddy bear for crying out loud ; a bunch of foam stuffing covered with artificial fur!! And Mohammed is just a name for goodness sake! Come on now ; if this isn't insanity then I don't know what is! Sorry, but at this point any respect or empathy I may have had for Islam just went right out the window!
Well I dont think that that makes you very open minded, I have clearly stated that I (as a muslim)dont agree with whats happening and that many other muslims think the same. This question was started as a means of getting insight into what others thought! I dont think that ignorance is the best route to answering this or the best comment to have left here....Its not a free for all for bigots to come and feel free to attack....check yourself!As an adult I would expect you to have the ability to decipher between ALL muslims and the minority of muslims in Sudan....they're not one in the same!!!!Its like saying we're all suicide bombers......Please stop the hate man its not cool!!! And i for one do not require your empathy!
The teacher in question said herself she did not want to become a pillar for right wing propaganda against muslims and muslim countries.
That being said I would be outside the Sudanese embassy protesting if I lived closer. Two muslim peers have been sent to negotiate her release so that the country doesn't feel it is bowing to the British goverment but offering 'mercy' instead.
I kind of have to agree with s_cianci, people who freak out over trivial things like this are insane, and they give islam a bad name, and people lose more and more respect for it because of these crazies, which is unfortunate because I know that not ever muslim is a radical extremist. It's kind of like when very religious christian people do hypocritical things and then we are all mocking them for being "religious" and still doing terrible things. It's unfortunate.
Either way, people need to get over the teddy bear, as stated before, it's a piece of foam and cotton. It's insane they want to punish her for it. We don't go around beheading people and giving them 40 lashes for naming their dog Jesus. It's time to grow up.
The reason a teddy bear can't be name Mohammed is because the teddy bear is then considered an idol to Mohammed which is against the laws of islam. I know this and I'm not teaching in a muslim country and I'm not muslim. Why the teacher didn't know any better is beyond me. If I was going to be teaching in a muslim country in Sudan no less where a genocide is taking place I would know the law very well. She broke the law the country she is in. Whether we consider it silly or not isn't really an issue. It now becomes an issue of are non-muslims above the laws of the country they are in and if so then should muslims respect the laws of the countries that they are in if they are non muslim countries?
The reason a teddy bear can't be name Mohammed is because the teddy bear is then considered an idol to Mohammed which is against the laws of islam. I know this and I'm not teaching in a muslim country and I'm not muslim. Why the teacher didn't know any better is beyond me. If I was going to be teaching in a muslim country in Sudan no less where a genocide is taking place I would know the law very well. She broke the law the country she is in. Whether we consider it silly or not isn't really an issue. It now becomes an issue of are non-muslims above the laws of the country they are in and if so then should muslims respect the laws of the countries that they are in if they are non muslim countries?
You make a great point but.....I know that ignorance is no plea but a friend an I were talikng about this today and about the letter she had sent out to the parents advising them of the bears presence etc and we came to the conclusion (its not founded merely logical) that in order for her to write that letter she had to first get it translated and then phototcopied, now during these processes someone at the school had to have read the letter and realised what a big mistake she was about to make....why didnt they act? My friend did agree that going to another country should usually have its preparation...ie the "how not to offend people in the country you are visiting" handbook...and if she still wasnt sure then she should have asked for advise!!
Well you see this is the problem with it, I dont think it is as cut and dry...I really do think it was a genuine mistake (on the teachers part and she probably thought it was ok because the people who translated the letter didnt mention anything!!) hence why I think its been taken a bit too far. It should have stopped before even leaving the school. I think her heart was in the right place, she wanted the children to bond with her and she let them name it....She probably thought she was being 'inclusive' by allowing them to do so....instead of calling him Fred...you know?
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