British teacher Gillian Gibbons, 54, is in a Sudanese jail facing 40 lashes if convicted. Her crime? She let her class of 7 years old name a teddy bear Mohammed:
Ms Gibbons allowed her class of seven-year-olds at the Unity High School in Khartoum to name a teddy bear Mohammed as part of a lesson about animals' habitats.
Mohammed is sacred to Islamic philosophy and the penalty for blasphemy is 40 lashes, a large fine or a jail term. The British Embassy in Khartoum confirmed the arrest.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,70131-1294365,00.html - Thanks James Laughton!
I think since I live in the good ol' USA I'm going to go re-name my dog to make a statement. Oh Muhammed, here Muhammed...nice doggie.
2) It wasn't so long ago in the West that 'blasphemous' and 'sinful' things could get you thrown in prison. In fact, if you can believe it, anal sex is illegal in many places in the US still.
3) Aren't there *people* named Mohammed? Did their parents insult the prophet, or does this have something to do with making idols?
Now, I think its absurd for her to get 40 lashes on something so silly. I understand it is a Christian school, but the students chose the name, they should have just changed it. Also, there are many non-Muslims who have the name Muhammad, so I think this punishment is unjust. But if the intention was to make fun of Muhammad and using the bear as a tool to do so, then there should be a punishment, but not that. The government should just deport her from the country.