NGONGE Posted November 26, 2007 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. A spokesman from the British Embassy in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, said it was unclear whether she had been charged. Embassy officials 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 BBC's correspondent Amber Henshaw said Ms Gibbons' punishment could be up to six months in jail, 40 lashes or a fine. 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. 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. Friends and neighbours of Ms Gibbons expressed their worry for the former deputy headteacher and respected educator who moved to Sudan in July. "Gillian is a very talented and able teacher and she was extremely popular with the pupils at this school," said Gillian Jones, Ms Gibbons former colleague at Dovecot Primary School in suburban Aigburth. Cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad printed in several European newspapers sparked violent protests around the world in 2006. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/7112929.stm Published: 2007/11/26 15:02:45 GMT © BBC MMVII Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blessed Posted November 26, 2007 LOL. Can they be anymore OTT? :rolleyes: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paragon Posted November 26, 2007 Yeah. No jokes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Khayr Posted November 26, 2007 Ahhh, the British Broadcasting Corporation reporting about a British Citizen in a muslim dominant land - a story ripe for the picking. Should they send in some secret service agents now and free this British lady? Oh my, this is an international crisis worth the coverage of the British Broadcasting Corporation aka BBC :rolleyes: Oh Ngonge, thanks for the good reporting you are doing for the BBC and England but I still think that Rageh has and continues to serve the QUEEN better than you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.O.R.F Posted November 26, 2007 ^^Come on now. Rageh has gone to AJE. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seekknowledge Posted November 26, 2007 Isn't a sign of affection to call your teddy bear the person you love the most? I called mine.......... my mom is telling me to change "SK these sudanes will give you lashes they are not somalis you complaing about bananas how you gonna handle lashes?" My answer I will not bow down to namebashing :mad: Is that why these dudes are killing the people of Darfur because they all named their teddy bears .............. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baluug Posted November 26, 2007 What a st*upid story. Another case of Muslims getting whipped into a frenzy over nothing. Did anyone hear about the story of the white guy in Dixon back in the early 90's who tried to piss off the Somalis by naming his dog Muhammad? Well, he succeeded in that, and also became the recipient of many, many beatings. Now that's a story I would like to see!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cara. Posted November 26, 2007 What happened to the dog? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zafir Posted November 26, 2007 ^You mean Mohamed? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baluug Posted November 26, 2007 Originally posted by Cara: What happened to the dog? The dog, years later, old and broken down, was euthanized and donated to the nearest Chinese restaurant and turned into meat for their "beef" fried rice for months. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacpher Posted November 26, 2007 ^You're now offending LOZ. Having school kids vote is what offended them guys. Yaa yidhaa islaanta daaya. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cara. Posted November 26, 2007 Cadaan, say it ain't so. Although if it was a Pekingese or a Chihuahua I hope it was run over by a car first. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seekknowledge Posted November 26, 2007 That is called animal thought abuse Cara Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Valenteenah. Posted November 26, 2007 The above exchange is more bizarre than the reported story. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
