Religion, Nationalism, and Terror

Munson: This teddy bear incident is trivial when compared  with the horrors of Darfur. It is nonetheless outrageous that a schoolteacher could face imprisonment or whipping because of a name she allowed her seven-year-old pupils to choose for a teddy bear. That such things still occur in the twenty-first century is unbelievable. Many Muslims are of course rightly shocked that the Sudanese government has once again done its best to perpetuate Western stereotypes about Islam.

Sudanese President Pardons British Teacher - New York Times, December 3, 2007

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec. 3 — The British schoolteacher jailed in Sudan for allowing her 7-year-old pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad was pardoned today by Sudan’s president and released to British authorities. She was later reported to have left the country.

The British Embassy said the schoolteacher, Gillian Gibbons, was in the custody of its officials but refused to say where she was and when she would leave Sudan. However, a British Embassy spokesman was later quoted by the Associated Press as saying that the teacher had left Sudan on a flight back to Britain.

The president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, made the decision to pardon Ms. Gibbons after a meeting this morning in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, with two Muslim peers from Britain’s House of Lords, the upper house of Parliament.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain said he was “delighted and relieved” at the news and that “common sense had prevailed,” according to the BBC. Despite the pardon, she was still required to leave the country.

Ms. Gibbons was sentenced to 15 days in jail last week for insulting Islam and was to be released Dec. 10. On Friday, hundreds of angry Sudanese in Khartoum protested what they considered to be a lenient punishment. Under Sudanese law, Ms. Gibbons could have received 40 lashes and been jailed for six months.

Charles Onians/AFP — Getty Images

Protesters in Khartoum today demanded the execution of a teacher convicted of insulting Islam after her students named a teddy bear “Muhammad.”

Calls in Sudan for Execution of Briton, AP, New York Times, November 30, 2007

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and knives, rallied Friday in a central square and demanded the execution of a British teacher convicted of insulting Islam for allowing her students to name a teddy bear ”Muhammad.”

The protesters streamed out of mosques after Friday sermons, as pickup trucks with loudspeakers blared messages against Gillian Gibbons, the teacher who was sentenced Thursday to 15 days in prison and deportation. She avoided the more serious punishment of 40 lashes.

They massed in central Martyrs Square outside the presidential palace, where hundreds of riot police were deployed. They did not try to stop the rally, which lasted about an hour.

”Shame, shame on the U.K.,” protesters chanted.

They called for Gibbons’ execution, saying, ”No tolerance: Execution,” and ”Kill her, kill her by firing squad.”

The women’s prison where Gibbons is being held is far from the square.

Several hundred protesters, not openly carrying weapons, marched about a mile away to Unity High School, where Gibbons worked. They chanted slogans outside the school, which is closed and under heavy security, then marched toward the nearby British Embassy. They were stopped by security forces two blocks away from the embassy.

The protest arose despite vows by Sudanese security officials the day before, during Gibbons’ trial, that threatened demonstrations after Friday prayers would not take place. Some of the protesters carried green banners with the name of the Society for Support of the Prophet Muhammad, a previously unknown group.

Many protesters carried clubs, knives and axes — but not automatic weapons, which some have brandished at past government-condoned demonstrations. That suggested Friday’s rally was not organized by the government.

A Muslim cleric at Khartoum’s main Martyrs Mosque denounced Gibbons during one sermon, saying she intentionally insulted Islam. He did not call for protests, however.

”Imprisoning this lady does not satisfy the thirst of Muslims in Sudan. But we welcome imprisonment and expulsion,” the cleric, Abdul-Jalil Nazeer al-Karouri, a well-known hard-liner, told worshippers.

”This an arrogant woman who came to our country, cashing her salary in dollars, teaching our children hatred of our Prophet Muhammad,” he said.

British Teacher Found Guilty in Sudan - New York Times, November 29, 2007

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov. 29 — The British teacher in Sudan who let her 7-year-old pupils name a class teddy bear Muhammad was found guilty on Thursday of insulting Islam and sentenced to 15 days in jail and deportation.

Under Sudanese law, the teacher, Gillian Gibbons, could have spent months in jail and been lashed 40 times.

A teddy on sale in Sudan

Teacher charged over teddy row, BBC, November 28, 2007

A British teacher has been charged in Sudan with insulting religion, inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs.

The Foreign Office has confirmed that charges have been laid against Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool.

She was arrested in Khartoum after allowing her class of primary school pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said he will summon the Sudanese ambassador “as a matter of urgency”.

In a statement, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was “surprised and disappointed” at the charges.

A spokesman said the first step was to “understand the rationale behind the charge”, something which would be discussed by Mr Miliband and the ambassador as soon as possible.

‘Shameful ordeal’

“We will consider our response in the light of that,” he added.

Lawyers say Mrs Gibbons faces six months in jail, 40 lashes or a fine if convicted.

Sudanese state media said prosecutors had completed their investigation and decided to charge Mrs Gibbons under Article 125 of the Sudanese criminal code.