UK teacher held in Sudan over teddy
A British primary school teacher has been arrested in Sudan, accused of insulting Islam's Prophet by letting her class of 7-year-olds name a teddy bear Mohammed, her school said on Monday.
Posted: Monday, November 26, 2007, 22:17 (GMT)
KHARTOUM - A British primary school teacher has been arrested in Sudan, accused of insulting Islam's Prophet by letting her class of 7-year-olds name a teddy bear Mohammed, her school said on Monday.
Police arrested Gillian Gibbons, 54 of Liverpool, on Sunday at her home inside the Unity High School premises after a number of parents complained to Sudan's Ministry of Education, said Unity director Robert Boulos.
The country's state-controlled Sudanese Media Centre reported late Sunday that Gibbons had been accused of "insulting the Prophet Mohammad". It said charges were being prepared "under article 125 of the criminal law" which covers insults against faith and religion.
Teachers at the school in central Khartoum said Gibbons made an innocent mistake and simply let her pupils choose their favourite name for the toy as part of a school project.
"We are very worried about her safety," he added. "This was a completely innocent mistake. Miss Gibbons would have never wanted to insult Islam."
A spokesman from the British Embassy in Khartoum said she had not yet been charged with violating state law against insulting religion. An embassy official visited her on Monday and said she was in good health but shaken.
If convicted, Gibbons could be sentenced to 40 lashes, six months in prison or a fine, said Ghazi Suleiman, the head of the Sudan Human Rights Group.
No one was immediately available for comment from Sudan's ministries of Education or Justice.
Boulos said he had decided to close down the school until January for fear of reprisals in Sudan's predominantly Muslim capital. "This is a very sensitive issue."
Earlier Gibbons' colleagues said they feared for her safety after receiving reports that young men had started gathering outside the Khartoum police station where she was being held. But a Reuters witness at the police station said no one was gathering there.
© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
Have your say on this article
The comments below are readers' personal opinions and are in no way intended to reflect the editorial opinion of Christian Today.
Added: Wednesday, November 28, 2007, 16:24 (GMT)
I'm sure if a Muslim teacher in the USA allowed her 7 year olds to name a teddy bear God that there would be some pretty angry Christians. It's the same situation. She should have been aware of the laws in the country she was working in. I don't find it any more extreme than forcing all of us in the USA to have "In God We Trust" on our currency.
Leon, Copenhagen, NY USA
Added: Wednesday, November 28, 2007, 0:19 (GMT)
I am absolutley awe struck at the situation Gilian Gibbons is faced with! I fully understand that this is a seriously sensitive issue to followers of Islam, and as such respect that, however I can not, nor do I feel should any reasonable human being, muslim, christian or otherwise, even begin to consider that the possibility of punishment to the level that is being suggested can ever be considered. It is positivley medievil in its concept! What next, is the judicial system of Sudan to suggest that as the children were the ones to vote in the majority for the name that was chosen, that they should be flogged too!! In the 21st Century this is inhumane, and tthe international community of all denominations should do everything in their power to stop this kind of archain ideology.
Paul Webster, Billingham UK
