Teacher faces whipping over toy bear

[pegkerr]

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Tuesday that officials were working to secure the early release of a British teacher who faces being whipped in Sudan after she allowed her class to name a teddy bear "Mohammed."

It's hard to know what to say about this jaw-dropping story. Respect for other religions, yeah, yeah, but come on. I wonder what the Prophet might have thought about his followers raising respect for his name practically to the point of idolatry.

Edited to add: I also wonder why it doesn't seem to occur to anyone to also give 40 lashes to the 20 out of 23 kids in the classroom who voted to give the teddy bear the name "Mohammed."

Comments

[joelrosenberg.livejournal.com]

"Way to go, guys", perhaps?

[http://users.livejournal.com/anam_cara_/]

The comment- "If the intentions are good, definitely she will be absolved and will be cautioned not to repeat this thing again," Mutrif Siddig, Sudan's under secretary for foreign affairs, said." certainly takes the bite out of opening line of the article, sounds like they're quite reasonable about it.

My question is, how on earth can she live there and teach there and be oblivious to the fact that this was a bad idea and poor choice?

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

People are routinely named "Mohammed" in that culture. Knowing it was inappropriate for a toy bear might not be obvious, especially if visiting teachers are mostly kept isolated from the locals outside of the classroom.

And, as has been pointed out, 20 of the 23 kids in the class thought it was appropriate.

[http://users.livejournal.com/anam_cara_/]

Ah. Well, I'd think that in that case it would clearly indicate her intentions were good and she was taking her cues from the kids.

[rabican.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the article itself is straightforward and comparatively reasonable in contrast to the headline - she hasn't even been charged with anything, only detained.

Now, I do think it's ridiculous that she's being temporarily held without charges over the name of a teddy bear, but that's not the same thing as 40 lashes or 6 months in prison.

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

Also 40 lashes to any parents who name their child Mohammed.

[naomikritzer]

That was my first thought when I read this story... Mohammed is the most common male name in the world (and may be the most common male name at my daughter's/Delia's school -- although "Chris" and "Zach" are still in the running, at least). How is it respectful to name a child (who's going to poop in his pants, pick his nose, pinch his sister and otherwise misbehave and embarrass his parents) after Muhammed but a teddy bear is disrespectful to the point of incurring a lashing?

[tassie-gal.livejournal.com]

As I am currently in the UK the press this is getting is interesting. They are concentrating on the fact that the kids voted for the name, and that she has only been there since August and thus she may not have been aware of the implications.
I must admit I struggle with the fact its okay to call your kid Mohammed by not an inanimate object...(though some kids do damn good impressions of inanimate objects).

[ann-totusek.livejournal.com]

If I were her, I'd be sorely tempted to be extremely contrite in order to avoid the lashing. Then go home, buy a pet pot-bellied pig and name it Mohammed. Although I'm assured by a friend of mine in the UK that you'd be arrested for that there as well. Nanny state indeed.

[joelrosenberg.livejournal.com]

Maybe they should compromise, and give her 20 lashes.

(No, I'm not serious. Nor, for that matter, do I think that the gang rape victim in Saudi Arabia should have been sentenced to, now, 200 lashes.)

[sternel.livejournal.com]

I'd say lash the teddy bear, but since it's been named Mohammed, that means they'd be beating on the prophet, wouldn't it...

[ceilidh]

For heaven's sake. It's not like she named something vulgar/offensive with that name, or named something that was clearly intended to be used in a rude way.

Teachers: We're damned if we do and damned if we don't.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

I thought that the entire reason that the term "Mohammedan" is offensive is exactly because it implies that followers of Islam deify the prophet Mohammed.

[trogon.livejournal.com]

She has been found guilty, and sentenced to 15 days in jail and deportation (a much lighter sentence than it could have been):

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/reuters-sudan.html

As it happens, the name of the judge in the case was Mohammed. (Given the popularity of the name in the culture, it would have been surprising if one of the major participants *hadn't* had that name.)