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11-27-2007 #1Gold Poster
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Teacher In Teddy 'Insult' Faces 40 Lashes
Updated:19:32, Monday November 26, 2007
A British teacher is facing 40 lashes in a Sudanese jail if convicted of insulting Islam's prophet by letting children name a teddy bear Mohammed.
Locked up: Gillian GibbonsGillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was arrested on suspicion of blasphemy on Sunday.
Ms Gibbons allowed her class of seven-year-olds at the Unity High School in Khartoum to name a teddy bear Mohammed as part of a lesson about animals' habitats.
Mohammed is sacred to Islamic philosophy and the penalty for blasphemy is 40 lashes, a large fine or a jail term. The British Embassy in Khartoum confirmed the arrest.
A source close to the school said one teacher was angered by the naming of the teddy bear and complained to the headmistress.
Ms Gibbons was a deputy headteacher at Liverpool's Dovecot Primary School from 2002 to this July when she left for Sudan.
Her MP, Louise Ellman, told Sky News: "This is very worrying. I understand Ms Gibbons is a very respected person, she is held in the highest regard and is seen as a person of the highest integrity.
"I'm in touch with the Foreign Office and it's right that they should be working hard to bring about a positive end."
There is no specific, or explicit ban in the Koran on images of Allah or the Prophet Mohammed - be they carved, painted or drawn.
School children named teddy bearHowever, chapter 42, verse 11 of the Koran does say: "[Allah is] the originator of the heavens and the earth... [there is] nothing like a likeness of Him."
The fear is that images could give rise to idolatry but in this case the response in Sudan, which has been governed by strict Islamic Sharia law since 1983, has been unusually harsh, said Hassan Aberdeen, a researcher at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.
"It seems that the parents made an issue of the teacher calling an animal Mohammed," he said. "Calling him a dog or a pig is insulting, but this is just a teddy bear."
"This could be more to do with who is saying it than what is being said. It might not have been an issue if this was a Sudanese person.
"The fact that this was a European teacher is highly likely to be one of the key causes."
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11-27-2007 #2Silver Poster
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Seems reasonable.
-Quinn
Life is essentially one long Benny Hill skit punctuated by the occasional Anne Frank moment.
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11-27-2007 #3Professional Poster
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Only 40,things are getting soft these days.When l was young a man she wound at least had a limb amputated.
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11-27-2007 #4Junior Poster
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Re: Teacher In Teddy 'Insult' Faces 40 Lashes
ROFL
Originally Posted by Night Rider
Yeah, I can picture it now. Let this go unchecked and next thing you know the entire country is worshiping teddy bears.
I'll be saying it until I die (whether naturally or beheaded by religious extremists)...RELIGION POISONS EVERYTHING
EDIT TO ADD: Could be worse, they could taser her.
Success lies not in being the best, but in doing your best.
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11-27-2007 #5Gold Poster
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The journalist didn't really explain the story very well, but it's been all over the UK news. Basically the teacher didn't realize the no tolerance attitude Muslims have against insulting Mohammed, and it was a complete misunderstanding on her part. Now she's facing 40 lashes and/or a jail sentence for her naivety. Pretty harsh though if you ask me. Originally Posted by Quinn
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11-27-2007 #65 Star Poster
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Gotta love religious superstitions. Hey, mohammed...you out there? You oughtta check on your ant farm, things aren't looking so good.
*silence*
just as I thought.
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11-27-2007 #7Gold Poster
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Re: Teacher In Teddy 'Insult' Faces 40 Lashes
I have to agree with you there.. Originally Posted by biguy4tvtscd
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11-27-2007 #8A Very Grooby Guy Platinum Poster
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Stupid Scouser.
Why did she go to Sudan to teach when SHE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE LAWS.
Out of all the countries, in all the world - she goes to a Sharia Law one ...
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11-27-2007 #9Silver Poster
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Agreed. I was being sarcastic. I'm not a fan or organized religion and definitely not a fan of Islam. Originally Posted by Night Rider
The journalist didn't really explain the story very well, but it's been all over the UK news. Basically the teacher didn't realize the no tolerance attitude Muslims have against insulting Mohammed, and it was a complete misunderstanding on her part. Now she's facing 40 lashes and/or a jail sentence for her naivety. Pretty harsh though if you ask me. Originally Posted by Quinn
-Quinn
Life is essentially one long Benny Hill skit punctuated by the occasional Anne Frank moment.
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11-27-2007 #10Gold Poster
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That's true. Originally Posted by seanchai
No matter how much money I could be earning, there's no way I'd go and work there.
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