Brit teacher in Sudan found guilty - escapes flogging

[MonkeyFunk]

Breaking on MSNBC. This was the woman who let her class name a teddy bear "Mohammed" and was charged with insulting religion.

She's been sentenced to 15 days in jail and deportation. She was facing 40 lashes, but that wasn't imposed.

[spanone]

1. those folks take their deities seriously

[Warpy]

2. Mohammad isn't even a deity

he was their deity's prophet.

I'm sure she was spared the lashes because she didn't name the teddy bear, the children did. 2 weeks in the can followed by deportation are doing her a favor. She would undoubtedly get death threats and worse from fanatical defenders of Mohammad's good name.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. 2 weeks in a foreign jail does no-one favours

They could have been reasonable, and found her not guilty. Or they could have just deported her - I doubt she wishes to stay working in a school where apparently a fellow teacher accused her of this, or where the authorities arrest her over it.

[Warpy]

17. It will keep some lunatic Mullah from issuing a fatwah

and calling for her execution once she's home.

Most Muslims are no different from garden variety Lutherans or Presbyterians. However, they have their nutcases just like we do, and their nutcases are dangerous.

This is a tap on the wrist, not even a slap, a perfunctory punishment to shut the clerics up. That's why it's doing her a favor.

[winter999]

7. Which does more damage to Mohammed's "good" name?

The naming of a teddy bear or the reaction of the militants?

Part B: Would she have been beheaded if the name had been "Allah".

I can see someone having a field-day with naming their pets...in the free world that is.

[Midlodemocrat]

19. From what I read yesterday, one of the children indicated that

he had named the bear Mohammed becuase that was HIS name. This is seriously fucked up.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Grrr.

It's time Sudan joined the 20th century, in preparation for getting to the 21st.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

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[iamthebandfanman]

6. i dont think taking a swipe at islam

is warrented.

instead, maybe governments should stop being run by religious leaders.

[SteelPenguin]

8. Religion has little to do with what's going on here

Repeating the meme that it's all about Islam is what people want you to do. The reality of the situation is that it isn't an insult to the religion, and it's only being used by the Sudanese government to get foreigners to leave, and disuade other people from coming.

It has nothing to do with religion, and all about the Sudanese governemnt not wanting outsiders there who can report on their genocides. They're using religion as a smokescreen.

[winter999]

11. Hate to disagree (not really), but

It was irate ISLAMIC parents that complained to the local authorities. Hell, the ISLAMIC militants wanted to behead her! The Sudanese government took her into custody more for her protection than anything. Her deportation is a way to get her safely out of the country (they had actually been worried that there would be a kidnap attempt before her trial).

How do you have separation of religion and government when the religion IS the government; the religion IS the law?

[IndianaJones]

13. it is a religion of peaceful peace. nt.

[SteelPenguin]

15. The islamic militants funded by the Sudanese government?

It's a show. I would have been shocked if the Sudanese actually punished her, that would have actually pissed off people too much. 'Taking her into protection' and then deporting her is the best thing politically they could do. Creates fear in the aid workers and teachers trying to help the people there, and doesn't get England or other Western nations to come down hard on them. Six months from now this will be a distant memory to most people, if they even heard of it in the first place, but the people who are working there and teaching or trying to help people aren't going to forget it so fast.

Nearly everything we hear about this has been manufactured for different purposes.

[Dora]

10. This isn't about faith, it's about fundamentalism.

Fundamentalism - in any cloak - is destructive.

[winter999]

14. I don't believe that's 100% true. After all, "reading is fundamental".

[Dora]

25. The two are not the same word, they do not mean the same thing. nt

[rAVES]

16. Yes.. just like the christian Solders and bombs that MURDERED over a million Iraqis huh..

How forgiving.. but I guess money trumps religion.

[IndianaJones]

20. yeah, just like that. nt.

[rAVES]

27. Well not exactly, but the level of hypocrisy from westerners on this stuff is shocking!

you have children in Iraq picking their arms off the ground and whole family's crushed under their own homes by our money, our bombs..

[SteelPenguin]

9. Post #8 above - It's not about religion

It's about the Sudanese government trying to scare people out of the country. They're just using religion as a smokescreen.

[cali]

12. you're mostly correct,, but that still doesn't take into consideration

the fact that this came to the attention of the authorities because parents complained to them about it.

[SteelPenguin]

18. Are you a teacher?

Parents, in this country, complain about everything. In every school year there's some parent who complains about this, or that, or another thing. If they had named the bear 'jesus' in a middle school in Ohio I'm willing to be there'd be at least one parent who would complain about it.

Or naming it 'mohammed' for that matter.

So yes, there are fundy asshole parents who complain about everything, everywhere. The difference here is that the AUTHORITIES that it was reported too are basically under goverment orders to look for ANY reason to arrest deport or intimidate foreign workers.

[cali]

22. no. I'm not a teacher. I am a parent.

I have a sister who is a teacher. Several friends. Please don't try and sell me that crock. If the teddy bear had been named Jesus in Ohio, the parents would have called the school, not the AUTHORITIES. Big difference. One more time: The parents reported it to the authorities.

[SteelPenguin]

23. Well we're both wrong

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-7113875,00.html

It actually wasn't the parents who reported her.

--

"Earlier reports said pupils' parents had objected to the teddy, but school director Robert Boulos said he had been told more recently by police the complaint came from a member of staff.

"I would be surprised if any parents complained to the ministry without coming to me first, and no one came to me," he said, insisting that the school's parents support Gibbons."

--

So the parents didn't even call the school or have a problem with it. One person, probably a paid government informant, let them know about it. Does that change your impression at all?

[cali]

24. absolutely.

Though I wouldn't jump to the conclusion it was a paid gov't informant. Could just as easily have been someone with a grudge.

But as I said in my OP, I agree with you about the actions of the authorities.

[Ishoutandscream2]

21. "We need to put God back in our classrooms!"

Yeah, right....

[cloudbase]

26. Sudan is one of the world's great

shitholes. Trust me, I've been there twice.