Muhammad Teddy Bear: Verdict Reached
In the News, Rants and Raves - 7 Comments » - Posted on November, 29 at 4:54 pm
Since Monday, every time I checked the news blogs, databases, and feeds I’ve been hearing about the British teacher who allowed children to name a teddy bear Muhammad and was being tried for insulting Islam in Sudan. Today, a verdict was reached on the Muhammad teddy bear case, and although she got a light sentence there is still a lot of outrage about the incident.
The teacher, a British woman in Sudan by the name of Gillian Gibbons, had the children bring a teddy bear to school and the children decided to name it Muhammad. They each had to take it home at one point and keep a diary on the experiance. However, Islam regards the prophet Muhammad in the highest regard and disdains images made of him, even highly favorable ones, as it leads to idolatry in their belief. Gibbons was charged with insulting Islam and could have possibly received 5 months in jail or 40 lashes along with a fine. Instead she was convicted on a lesser charge and will only have to spend 15 days in jail instead and will be deported back to Britain upon release.
Many are calling this an outrage, with even the White House issuing a statement to that affect, but what many people are failing to see here is that what this woman did, whether unintentional or not, was breaking the law. In the United States, it doesn’t matter whether you’re from Jamaica, South Carolina, or France, if you break the law, whether knowingly or unknowingly, you have broken the law and will be held accountable. Your willful and knowingly breaking of the law will naturally accord you a harsher sentence and likewise, if you made the transgression in error it will be taken into account. That is what happened in this case, she unknowingly broke the law, the judge in the Sudan court took this into account and gave her a much lighter sentence. Since this made world news he could hardly let her walk away without sending out the message that foreigners will be given diplomatic immunity in their country to do what ever they so please.
To address the second popular point that people keep bringing up: “it was such a trivial matter and no offense was obviously intended”. The aforementioned statement is made when we judge another culture by our standards. Their beliefs and idols are not the same to us and in their opinion, insulting Muhammad is a high crime. Likewise, if a woman from China came to the US, had the children write in a diary why the president of the United States deserves to be murdered, she too would find herself up on charges in a flash. What, it’s not the same thing? The naming of a teddy bear after a holy figure and perpetuating the murder of a president? But by the Sudanese beliefs it is on the same level, that’s the point I’m trying to make here. This was a huge affront to their culture and beliefs, and she got a punishment that they felt fit the crime. End of story.
What people need to realize is that it doesn’t matter where you’re from, who your leader is, and what your beliefs and intentions are when you’re in another country. When you are in another country you play by their rules and you dance to their tune. If you want to step foot in another country you need to check your country’s privileges at the door and get ready to live in another country, because honey, you aren’t in Kansas anymore.
Tagged: gillian-gibbons, insulting-islam, muhammad-teddy-bear, sudanPosted in In the News, Rants and Raves | 7 Comments »
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That is a retarded law. If the kids wanted to name it that, why is the teacher to blame? For allowing the kids what they wanted? Pfft. I do agree though that when you go to another country you need to live by their rules, even those that suck.
I’ll refrain from commenting on why the previous commenter shouldn’t call the law “retarded”. Sheesh!
At any rate, I completely agree with you. It’s a different culture, and even if we think the law is ridiculous, it is the LAW.
Whether it’s a “good” law or not is not the issue. It is a law and it was enforced. This womans experience is a great eye opener for all that think the grass is greener in another country.
that’s probably the most absurd thing that i’ve ever heard. however, it’s important when visiting another country to follow their rules…but the teacher was a visitor, and the students were the one that chose the name of the bear. one would think that they’d know better?!
It’s still sad though. You get deported for breaking the law? I suppose. I wouldn’t let students name the Teddy Bear such a weird name, we would call it Bob or something…
maybe i am alone here but this is what makes our world uncivilized. i support the persons right to call a teddy bear any name they want. there is a new company that is supporting free speech and tolerance and i purchased a teddy bear mohammed from them. i got it from http://www.teddybearmohammed.com/. this is the most peaceful thing a child can have, and yet people are calling for the teacher to be killed. thats horrible. i think the teddy bear campaign from that website is the perfect method to show that people should tolerate each other.
the world needs to stand together and end this hate.
While I don’t agree with physical punishments for breaking the law, I do agree with you Joana. Its the law, and it was that teacher’s responsibility to know the laws of wherever she is teaching at. Ignorance is not an excuse for breaking the law in any country – and people who do break it are going to be punished for it. She didn’t know that she was breaking the law, and likewise got a less severe punishment for it than she would have if she had willfully broken the law.
@Jessie: She is responsible for the students, and therefore has to take full responsibility for what they do. They are just children, and they may in fact not know any better – but she is the one who should.. If you understand what I’m saying.
@Jessica: You’re telling me that if you had been raised Islam your entire life, and had been taught that to create an “idol” in the form of your religious figure was a sin/crime against your religion – you’d have absolutely no problem with someone doing that? It has nothing to do with tolerance and everything to do with the fact that’s a matter of law: you (presumably) don’t break the laws in your own country, so don’t break the laws in other people’s countries. I’m also going to have to assume that you do not have a religion, since you pretty much said that the laws of religion make the world uncivilized (because it can be applied to ANY religion – including Christianity, Catholicism, etc)
Wow… I’m gonna shut up now