Woman in prison over teddy bear
 

A friend of mine suggested that this would be a good topic to debate :xyxwave:

British teacher Gillian Gibbons has appeared before a Sudanese court charged with insulting religion and inciting hatred by naming a teddy bear Mohammed. She is facing 40 lashes as a punishment!

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What does everyone think of this?

i keep hearing about this,what is 40 lashes?

it is where she will be brutually whipped 40 times

:shocked:omg!
i cant beleive thats legal

I think this is absolutely ridiculous. This just shows you how backward some countries are in their thinking. Why should she get 40 lashes?

isnt one of the boys in the class going to get her out of it though.I thought it was Abraham they called the teddy...
anyhow,hopefully this boy who has said they named the teddy after him will get her off

The teddy was called Mohammed after one of the children in the class of the same name. The boy named the teddy after himself.

I can see why Muslims are outraged TBH. If someone named a teddy Jesus, I'm sure there'd be similar outrage.

But would there? And would the teacher be sent to prison?? I highly doubt it. She would just get a slap on the wrist by the principle IMO

In this country maybe but the religious right in America may have taken things a step further.

It's the most pathetic thing I have EVER heard.

The verdict is in - GUILTY

She has been sentenced to 15 days in jail and then immediate deportation, I am surprised that they have been so lenient given the clamour for her death. I expected a more exemplary punishment to help keep order.

In this country BTW we still have a law on Blasphemy and it has been used

With all that goes on, you have to give them that these countries take morality seriously. Religion is precious to people and by insulting it you trample upon them.

Before anyone bleats, this is the law over there. She broke it. We have absolutely no right whatsoever to criticise another sovereign state over their laws. This is just another case of a Brit bringing shame on us all by breaking the law in a foreign country.

She is a criminal not a heroine. :mad:

^^Couldn't have put it better^^

And im sure it will earn the country in question and its legal system plenty of respect abroad :rolleyes:.


A bit far , dont you think?

Absolutely it will, although if anything this sentence will draw more condemnation from the Islamic world over it's leniency .

It shows that they won't take the kind of stuff we routinely put up with over here, like junkies murdering old age pensioners for a £5 note for their next fix.

I remember when the TV show Spitting Image portrayed Christ as a hippy. The churches complained, but did the TV company care about the beliefs they were trampling on - not a bit of it.

Then the Imams went on how they were treating Jesus so terribly, as in Islam he is also considered a prophet, so Spitting image pulled the puppet and it was never used again.

And so they should not. Its a free world and they are free to do it. Religion should not be the law like it is in some of these countries.

I think they forget the fact that it's just a name...
And a much more common name than "Jesus"

Though even if it was called Jesus, people shouldn't be stopped from liking/using the name just because of someone previously called it.

I suppose parents should be sentenced to 40 lashes for naming their child Mohammed? Or Moses? or Jesus? or Mary? Or John? Or Peter? or Matthew? Or Luke? or Mark?

Because someone out there might remember a religious figure from the past, with the same name, and remember how hard that person had it...then take offense that you liked the name? Logic at its finest.

If anything, shouldn't naming your child/teddy be a sign of respect? rather than an insult?

And why should only "that" Mohammed be allowed that name as a tribute to his honour...when plenty of other Mohammed's probably existed at the same time? His name doesn't define who he is, so it shouldn't be restricted.

And arresting people over teddies earns respect, only because you're scaring everyone into thinking they'll be severely punished for just about anything that they do, no matter how miniscule/meaningless. Eg. Naming a teddy.

I would think that'd do a country more harm than good? if people look upon it as a prison cell lead by unusually power mad people who think that allowing only one person to be addressed as Mohammed benefits anything/anyone in anyway what so ever.

P.S I agree Stu, people should be free to express public negative opinions on religion, without everyone labelling them blasphemous etc.

That's shocking... it really does go to show how different certain countries in the world are. The main thing I find strange is that Mohammed is actually a really common boys' name, therefore calling a teddy bear - i.e., not exactly something degrading - the same name shouldn't cause an effect like this. Not to mention that it was named after a boy in the class, which makes the outcome a little more absurd.

Furthermore, Gillian Gibbons probably didn't think twice that what she did would result in this - that too, quite a harsh punishment in my opinion.

To name a human child after a figure from history can be seen as granting honour to that figure, but a lot of people see that to associate that name with a lower order animal, is a gross insult. It is like calling that person that kind of animal. As some animals are considered unclean by certain religions, the insult is increased.

When someone is caught hurling insults, they are punished, why should insulting a religious figure, that many people hold so dearly not be considered the same?

To give a non-religious example where this is the law, in France it is against the law to name a pig Napoleon.

BTW, does the prosecution have the right to appeal against acquittals of the other charges and against the leniency of the sentence? If they do, they may just do so to satisfy the hard liners.

Just another religion usurped as an excuse for violence and murder and, more importantly...control, the same as christianity has been.

This is absolutely despicable.

It is an innocent mistake and she clearly intended no harm. It was not her that suggested the name Mohammed anyway.

The world has gone stark raving bonkers.

We're applying our norms and values to this case.
If this happened in the UK, then yes - the punishment is severe. However, other countries shouldn't and don't follow our rule of thumb and she was just getting the sentence that anyone would get in that country, under those circumstances.

Just because rules are in place, it doesn't necessarily mean they are right.

But should you break then because you believe them not to be right? If we all decided to only follow the laws we liked it would be anarchy.

Now I don't believe that she set out to cause offence, but she has shown extreme naivety. Did she not remember the offence caused around the world when Mohamed was depicted in cartoon form in Denmark?

We in this country may find the punishment harsh. But You have to follow the laws of the land.

I noted that the overriding view in the emigrants thread was that if they come here they should obey our laws and customs. How many of you who think that all so think she should not be punished? Well it works both ways. Not just for people coming here. Or is it ok for her to go to another country and flout the laws and customs as she is English?

Why!!!! A teddy is something that is loved. Do not the religious love Jesus......