British teacher imprisoned for naming

[0311 0]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22007049/?GT1=10547

Just wondering what the rest of you folks think about this.

[ZNorQ 0]

Do we dare have an opinion on the subject? If you have a deathwish, be my guest...

[Heatseeker 0]

I believe this is just a case of <s>religious</s> cultural stupidity.

6 months in prison and 40 whips, what's this? The middle ages return ?

I thought the name of the holly prophet was widely comon/used in islamic countries... and a teddy bear ffs, imagine if it was a real animal like a pet they would likely stone her to death or behead her.

[Albert Schweitzer 10]

Will the teddy be used as a piece of evidence in court? In case it does I should put one on ebay, claiming it to be THE ONE. I may assume it would achieve a price of at least a couple of thousand dollars.

[Balschoiw 0]

If one is trying to work in a foreign country he/she has to be aware of the rules and laws there. The name "Muhammad" is a critical one as there are coming a lot of regulations and limitations with the use of that word.

I´m not surprised about the verdict. She should have known that there is little flexibility coming along with the use of the name "Muhammad". The outcry coming from various sides is just fishing for PR.

It´s her own fault.

[baddo 0]

Yeah... own fault for not recognizing how things are at that location

When you are among any kind of fanatics then you ought to be careful and not put yourself into unnecessary danger, like calling a teddybear Mohammad?

I would say that similar fanatism and extremism is among Christians too.

In our lawbooks we have text which talks about "peace of religion" or something like that... don't know if it's translated properly. It says that if you make mockery out of someone's religion, or of a "holy thing", you could get a punishment. Even a death penalty has been at least theoretically possible here in Finland in the 19th century (source: wikipedia).

In this case calling a teddybear Mohammad was serious-enough to warrant a punishment.

[martinovic 0]

Teddy bears are statues = idolatry. Mohammed was against that i believe, so it was really a bad choice.

[DBO_ 0]

think there is more politics than religion here.

Quote[/b] ] In November 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt and some of his friends went on a hunting trip to Mississippi. After hours of searching, Roosevelt and his group had not come across any wild animals. Finally, the group did track down and surrounded a helpless bear. One of the guides asked the president to shoot the bear so he could win a hunting trophy. The president refused, and news reporters throughout the country spread the story of Roosevelt's kind act.

Not long after this took place, a famous cartoonist named Clifford Berryman drew a cartoon based on Roosevelt 's rescue of the bear. When a store owner in Brooklyn saw the cartoon, he decided to make toy bears to sell in his shop. He asked president Roosevelt for permission to use the name “"Teddy's Bear"†for his toys, as a reminder of the bear Roosevelt had set free.

Nowadays, everyone knows these toys as Teddy Bears, but few people know that they were named after President Theodore “"Teddy"†Roosevelt.

But again it shows that religion can be the root of all evil.

Personally i agree ,for a teacher she was pretty stupid not to hav gauged the reaction to all this.

[froggyluv 2136]

I practice Islam and to me this is cultural mixed with religious fanticism.

Of course care should be taken when your in foreign lands to both be aware and respect local religious/cultural customs but this is insane. As far as i've heard it was the students who picked out the name and yes they were young but that should be taken into consideration as this was not an 'intent to defame' on her part.

A simple pulling her aside and telling her that's not appropriate would be sufficient. These Ultra-Conservative religious zealots give Islam a bad name as patience, tolerance and compassion are thrown out the door in favor of out-dated practices.

[Eda Mrcoch 0]

The point is that she did not name the bear. The kids did it. How do we (or the court) determine that she even knew it? Is there any more info about this?

I believe the one who taught the kids religion is to be responsible for that his pupils did something considered blasphemous.

[Journeyman 0]

Quote[/b] ] The marchers took to the streets after Friday prayers to denounce the sentence as too lenient.

The protesters gathered in Martyrs Square, outside the presidential palace in the capital, many of them carrying knives and sticks.

Some news agencies reported thousands of people took part in the protest, but a BBC reporter at the scene said up to a thousand marchers turned out.

According to some agencies, some of the protesters chanted: "Shame, shame on the UK", "No tolerance - execution" and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad".

One demonstrator told reporters that it was unacceptable to take a toy and call it Muhammad.

"We can't accept it from anybody. Even if they can do that in Europe, they cannot do it here in Sudan. We ask our rulers and judges to review what they have said. Fifteen days is not enough."

 

… And all this because a foreign junior school teacher allowed her kids to name a stuffed toy Muhammad !!  

Even though I accept that every country has its right to a religion and every religion has a right to exist, I can never accept this kind of fanatic hysterical paranoia from its followers!

Personally I stay away from such fanatical and barbaric cultures full stop! And I guess if I was forced to visit such places I would make a big effort to keep my mouth shut and my hands clean, but not everyone has this choice and events like this are sometimes inevitable. This is why there should be much more tolerance from such religious followers rather than these constant knee-jerk hysterical outbursts that do nothing for their religion whatsoever!

Unfortunately it is this very fanatical and totally intolerant characteristic of many of our worlds cultures that prevents us ever from living in harmony with each other and just guarantees the continued fighting and killing of our species!

Primitive, barbaric, hysterical and totally unnecessary in this age!  

[TrevorOfCrete 0]

its so petty.  Its a complete joke.  I cant help but laugh,  somone has actually been arrested for what they named a stuffed animal.

If a teacher named a teddy Jesus in Italy would there be this sort of comotion? me thinks not  

If a teacher named a teddy Krsna in West Bengal would there be this sort of comotion?  me thinks not

If a teacher named a teddy Abraham in Israel would there be this sort of comotion?  me thinks not

If a teacher named a teddy Gobind Singh in Punjab would there be this sort of comotion? me thinks not

If a teacher named a teddy atman in Bagnledesh would there be this sort of comotion?  me thinks not

If a teacher named a teddy Amaterasu in Japan would there be this sort of comotion?  me thinks not

If a teacher named a teddy Ron Hubbard In California would there be this sort of comotion?  me thinks not

If a teacher named a teddy Atton Rand in Coruscant would there be this sort of comotion?  me thinks not

Most importantly

If a teacher named a teddy Muhammed in the United Emirates would there be this sort of comotion?  me thinks not

ITS A COMPLETE JOKE

[froggyluv 2136]

If a teacher named a teddy Jesus in Italy would there be this sort of comotion? me thinks not  

Not Italy but Vatican City- you'd be a dead duck  

Good points though TrevorOfCrete, I think this situation clearly demonstrates the need for seperation of Church (Mosque) and State. Theocracies with full control of the Judiciary and Law Enforcement is a dangerous thing especially if that Theocracy is hell-bent radical right.

[Jack-UK 0]

To be honest, i dont care what religion. i HATE fanatics of religion, i can tolerate those who follow a religion, got no problem with that, but people who stick to these old out of date 'rules'/'laws' and stuff like that just really irritate me.

In this case, its a load of boll*cks... She bought a teddybear for the class and allowed the children to name it whatever they wanted. The kids chose Muhammed, so thats what was given. It was an oversight, nothing more, absolutely pathetic.

And one of the children in the class claim that the bear was named after him anyway.

When will some of these religions come up to a modern standard? 40 Lashes for naming a bear one of the most common names out there..?? Load of b*llocks.

[AfrographX 0]

I'm really getting tired of the Islam world's pathetic reaction to such simple irrelvant things. Just shows how much they're ignoring their own real problems.

[JdB 151]

I also can't seem to let go off the idea that this is a warning towards the UN which is planning to insert a peacekeeping force into Darfur (Sudanese territory), where the Sudanese government has been sponsoring/promoting genocide in one way or another. "Stay out or we'll make our people declare a Jihad on you through the use of propaganda and medieval literature"...

[chops 111]

Surely if Alah is offended, he can strike her dead any time he sees fits

[Jack-UK 0]

Surely if Alah is offended, he can strike her dead any time he sees fits

haha QFT

[MehMan 0]

Will the teddy be used as a piece of evidence in court? In case it does I should put one on ebay, claiming it to be THE ONE. I may assume it would achieve a price of at least a couple of thousand dollars.

http://zioneocon.blogspot.com/teddy%20bear.jpg

You are pure genius!

[R3MF 0]

the UK gives Sudan hundreds of millions in sterling as aid, we ought to threaten to cut it off unless they start behaving in a civilised manner.

[Commando84 0]

totally retarded people wouldnt care less if someone in my country named their teddy bear jesus or whatever, sometimes i get the feeling that islamic people just want to hurt others...

intresting story of why the teddy bear is named "teddy"

[Guest Ti0n3r]

You can name your son 'Muhammad', but not a teddy bear? Human beings are disgusting, but teddy bears are sweet and innocent ._.

This is too funny. But on the other hand, she should have known better.

[jtec 0]

Pathetic is all i can say, a pathetic religion and pathetic people. Lets just ban all religions and just get on

[R3MF 0]

This is too funny. But on the other hand, she should have known better.

why, there is no islanmic consensus on whether it is ok or not ok to call an inanimate object mohammed.

not all consider it idolatorus (sp?)

[martinovic 0]

This is too funny. But on the other hand, she should have known better.

why, there is no islanmic consensus on whether it is ok or not ok to call an inanimate object mohammed.

not all consider it idolatorus (sp?)

What are you talking about? There is an absolutely clear consensus on it.

It wasn't just an inanimate object, it was a depiction of an animal which is already forbidden by Islam.