British Teacher Freed After Islam-Teddy Bear Uproar

AP :

A British teacher jailed for insulting Islam after allowing her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad was released Monday when Sudan's president pardoned her, a British Embassy spokesman said.

The teacher, Gillian Gibbons, said she did not intend to offend anyone and had great respect for Islam.

Read the whole story: AP

Comments

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

10:02 PM on 12/03/2007

Why is it ok for Muslims to name their kids Mohammed, but NOT ok for the teacher to name the teddy bear -- at the request of the kids (perhaps even one NAMED Mohammed)... Mohammed?

Seriously.

[marko77]

05:26 PM on 12/03/2007

If the Christian Fundamentalists like Pat Robertson and people who think like him were to obtain real political power, they would act just like the Sudanese Muslims who wanted to give that woman 40 lashes and then execute her for good measure. Don't think it wouldn't happen? It would.

[Lemeritus]

05:01 PM on 12/03/2007

Mohammed had eight children. I wonder how the Prophet might have felt if a child had thought so fondly of him that they would name a favorite toy in his honor?

How is it that religion makes us so hateful?

[BeerHolder]

04:39 PM on 12/03/2007

We're allowing this in our own country too. Bush's war on science continues in Texas.

TEACHER FIRED FOR MENTIONING EVOLUTION!
Send your complaints to:

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/tea/contact.html

STORY:
But now Ms. Christine Comer, 56, of Austin, is out of a job, after forwarding an e-mail message on a talk about evolution and creationism " "a subject on which the agency must remain neutral," according to a dismissal letter last month that accused her of various instances of "misconduct and insubordination" and of siding against creationism and the doctrine that life is the product of "intelligent design."

Her departure, which has stirred dismay among science professionals since it became public last week, is a prelude to an expected battle early next year over rewriting the state"s science education standards, which include the teaching of evolution.

Send your complaints to:

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/tea/contact.html

[Concernedperson]

03:58 PM on 12/03/2007

The only reason we know about this "crime" and its punishment is because it involved a British woman and thus got worldwide attention. I wonder how many Sudanese women get falsely accused of crimes like this out of view of the public.

[LiveFreeOrDieDammit]

03:41 PM on 12/03/2007

I think I'll buy me a pig and name it "Mohammed". Then I'll dress it up like an a-rab and take pictures.

"8x10 color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one describing what each one was."

"Well, with a great pig like that, you don't eat him all at once!"

Don't worry, I'm an equal opportunity atheist. I'm gonna get another pig and name him "Jesus".

[nefertiti]

03:14 PM on 12/03/2007

magisterludi

If you go and read a little about the miracles of the Quran (embryology especially ) you will find some scientific facts impossible to know without the use or a microscope especially that the prophet was Illetterate . there are many scientific facts i the 1400 years Quran that have been aknowledged by many Scientists

[clumberfeet]

02:50 PM on 12/03/2007

If you travel to Thailand don't say anything derogatory about the King or Queen or you will be looking at serious prison time.
Take the time to learn something about the culture you are visiting. Don't just barge in as another ugly American.

[MagisterLudi]

02:33 PM on 12/03/2007

All major religions were founded by mystics. Jesus, Shakyamuni Buddha, Mohammed and Moses never spoke of "learned, intellectual knowledge" but rather of revelations and inner truths.
However, the majority of modern religion leaders are unscrupulous, 'square' and morally and mentally misshapen human beings who reject the path of self-knowledge of their founders. Most are administrators or avaricious power mongers who cover themselves with a mantle of religious legitimacy.
Only those,the very few, who dedicate themselves to ceaseless quest for self-knowledge thru' prayer or meditation can claim any religious legitimacy whatsoever. Those people can be mostly found among Sufi, Zen,Ch'an, Hindi mystics, Hassids, Christian and Buddhist monks. Thats about it.

The religious leaders who incite mobs to pillage and murder in the name of Mohammed are barely human.
The punishment for these should be permanent exile to some desert cave with frugal food and ceaseless meditation and purification rituals.

[Dantana]

02:25 PM on 12/03/2007

So, who's telling the truth?

With the Bush whitehouse's track record, it's hard to believe anything they say these days.

The surge is working? How much longer can the US sustain a ga-zillion dollars a month in Iraq?

Maliki will never step up to the plate while there's that kind of money flowing into Iraq.

[nefertiti]

02:16 PM on 12/03/2007

forpeace

In many Muslim countries (i dont mean the rich class ) there is no notion of a cuddly teddy bear , so the newsreaders called that teddy bear , simply an Animal or a bear and a bear is seen as ferocious dangerous etc.. so many heard that their prophet was compared to an Animal . the Sudanese media did not help . i wish they told the truth and said it was Little Hohamed who is fond of the name and he was the one who named a little soft cuddly toy

[chirps]

02:13 PM on 12/03/2007

I named my dog Bush and the next day he bit me!

[Trittydi]

01:58 PM on 12/03/2007

This is good.

My kids had a program like this in their preschools nearly 20 years ago now. It was a good and popular program with both the kids and their families, and had many positive aspects to it.

The last thing to focus on in this instance was the frickin' NAME of the bear.
*

[sgs23]

01:56 PM on 12/03/2007

It's really quite remarkable what you can accomplish with a little dialogue and negotiation. Let calmer heads prevail.

[PeteBogs]

01:55 PM on 12/03/2007

this is a good outcome... now commence the bombing of Darfur...

honestly, I don't if the people of that region were also those calling for her head, but if they were, I'd support stopping all aid immediately... such dangerous zealots are not the type of people I wish to keep around...

PS: remember, I said "if"