Teacher held for teddy bear 'blasphemy'

[Logic note]

Originally Posted by roadrunner
Which is not true. Her fault was she broke the Saudi law and met a man in a car. Saudi law clearly states that you are not allowed to mix with the opposite sex in this manner. She broke it, therefore she got punished. This is something you fail to get into your head time after time. Laws are there to be folllowed. It is not for you or anyone else to say that Saudi mentality is backward for suggesting that people of the opposite sex are not allowed to meet. Different culturally minded folk can point the finger at virtually anyone else in the world, and claim what they do is sick or backward. It does not make it so.
/QUOTE]

Heard of Nuremberg Trial ?
All the Nazi Accused gave the logic that they were following their duty of following the national law and hence they cant be punished .
but then your first duty is follow the eternal ethical human law of fighting injustice and narrow mindedness . Saudi laws are inhuman , mediaeval

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Firstly, there is no law in Sudan that says explicitly "teddy bears are not to be named muhammed".
Secondly, even if it is, by a slim chance, illegal in Sudan to name a teddy bear muhammed, we are talking about someone's life here. It is no joke for a teacher (that too a volunteer...someone with good intentions) to get punished for something as trivial as this.

Cultural tolerance is fine, but when this tolerance starts to become malignant, we need to stop tolerating.

Definitely, when you are in Rome, do as the romans do.

However, there is no need to respect the law. If the law is stupid in your opinion, don't hesitate to let the world know what you think.

RR did refer to that the lack of a law explicitly referring to the "crime".

The punishment for this crime, were there to be one, would not fit any clearly worded law. This is a fuzzy interpretation of a non existent law, that has been interpreted by radicals too backward to co-exist with the rest of the world. The teacher in this case did not know she was doing wrong,

Y'all need to cut him some slack IMO - at no point has he said that any of these laws are justified or acceptable, in fact he has criticized them - but he is taking a legalistic approach in analyzing the events.

Whether we have an obligation to not obey unjust laws (to use Dr. King's argument against segregation) and put pressure on the system to change, is a question for Saudi or Sudanese society to decide.

 

[x_man]

Sudanese have gone crazy. Why are they making such a fuss over a teddy. Mohammad is a very common name amongt muslim and I am sorry to say but there will be thousands of rapist, murdrers , cons, criminals with the same name who never kept the respect of the name.

Secondly, children would like to name their teddy something good and dear to them. And they probably thought that Mohammad is a nice name. Teacher approved it never thinking that how much fuss it will create.

Islam is all about peace and tolerant, but sadly, today we are anything but peaceful and tolerant. We have become obcessed with death. It seems we have lost the purpose in living, either we want to kill someone over islam or get killed in the name of Islam. Although Islam does allow sacrifice of your life or take a life but we should never forget that its in very very discrete circumstances and clearly mentions not to harm any innocent life, muslim or non-muslim.

 

[HK-47]

Keep your own house in order, Sudan is not the whole Muslim world, just a very small part of it.

you are right;but I wasn't talking about Sudan only.we had a similar thing here some weeks ago another naming case this time in a cartoon.
Did such a law even exist in Sudan prior to this incident?

i doubt you will answer me cause saying anything against house of saud will be wrong.

why???who the **** are the damned Sauds?a bunch of divine beings?

off topic:why weren't those rapists sentenced to death for their crime?they were only given some years to serve in prison.

 

[Cheetah786]

Islam is all about peace and tolerant

could you honestly belive after watching what so called muslims are doing in the name of islam(hijacked off course for personal gains)would any body believe that statement.

If US Muslims dont stand up and confront these monsters and acknowledge we have a problem.
This is not going to go away denial and blaming the media while ignoring the realities on ground is just like sticking your head in the sand and thinking as long as i dont see the threat its not there.

All other terrorist organisations dont represent a problem for me as they dont associate them self with my religion.

ISLAM is a religion of peace no doubt in my mind but our actions should represent our religion.action speaks louder then words.

 

[Awesome]

Legal or not... This is appalling!

I know it's general practice to not name pets and anything non-human with Muslim names as it's considered (slightly) disrespectful. Having said that, whenever someone does that b accident it is pointed out and then it's upto him/her to change it or something.

40 lashes, protests, No Tolerance, Execution, Kill, kill, kill...

What the hell is wrong with us?

Lashing a woman is worst, than this case of accidental blasphemy.
Protests and disruption to life is worst, than this case of accidental blasphemy.
No Tolerance is worst, than this case of accidental blasphemy.
Executions for this is worst, than this case of accidental blasphemy.
Killing is worst, than this case of accidental blasphemy.

Crackpots. I know another American teacher of mine who is in Africa teaching these kids. Thankfully he's gotten the better kind of human beings around him.

 

[Flintlock]

Wary of Mohammed teddy row, UK author changes characters
2 Dec 2007, 1814 hrs IST,Rashmee Roshan Lall ,TNN

SMS NEWS to 58888 for latest updates
/photo.cms?msid=2589773
Author Kes Gray said he changed the mole's name after reading about the fate of British school teacher Gillian Gibbons (Agencies Photo)
LONDON: First there was Mohammed the Mole and Dipak the Dalmatian . Now there is Morgan the Mole and Dipak the Dalmatian . A British children's author who named his fictitious mole Mohammed and the dog Dipak in an attempt to promote multi-culturalism, has backed away from the first for fear of offending Muslims.

Author Kes Gray said he changed the mole's name after reading about the fate of British school teacher Gillian Gibbons who is in prison in Sudan for allowing her class to name a teddy bear Mohammed.

Gray told The Sunday Times , London that he "had no idea at all of the sensitivities of the name Mohammed until seeing this case in Sudan" and he added that the Hindu and Muslim names for his animals characters had merely been a way to "embrace other cultures...I had no idea it would backfire like this. I was in Egypt this year and everyone was called Mohammed. I just thought it was a popular name".

Gray's book, an illustrated volume called Who's Poorly Too , has sold 40,000 copies in Britain and abroad over the last eight years it has been in print. But the author says he decided to postpone a re-print and rename the mole to guard against the possibility of trouble from angry Muslims.

Many believe Gray's self-censorship and caution may be political correctness gone mad especially as he has never received any complaints about the mole's name and many British Muslims have robustly attacked the Sudanese hardline on Gibbons as a bad advert for Islam.

The overwhelming British Muslim plea for Gibbons to have been spared by the Sudanese judges came as 10,000 teddies, named Adam the Muslim Prayer Bear, were reportedly bought by Muslim families in Britain to raise money for Sudanese refugees. Adam bear's name is that of another prophet of Islam and at £ 15 a piece, he recites Assalam-o-alaikum when his paws are pressed.

The bears, marketed by the Islamic Society of Britain, to raise funds for charity, have not sparked unease or complaints in the three years they have been sold.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Her name is not Goldilocks or is it?

 

[Flintlock]

According to me, these people urgently need to develop a sense of humour. That is the only solution.

 

[Black Stone]

She's getting released soon.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

According to me, these people urgently need to develop a sense of humour. That is the only solution.

Who are "these people"?

 

[Flintlock]

Who are "these people"?

Sudanese muslims.

 

[Awesome]

Sudanese muslims.

Or pretty much Sudanese?

 

[Flintlock]

Or pretty much Sudanese?

Sure..but I doubt the Sudanese Christians were part of the protests. Perhaps they can be blamed by not voicing their opinions well enough.

Another point, this stupid controversy definitely pales in front of the genocide going on in Sudan....infact this even may be a step up from the stuff going on in that country.

 

[roadrunner]

Firstly, there is no law in Sudan that says explicitly "teddy bears are not to be named muhammed".

I don't believe I ever said there was. Which is what makes this case crazy. They've suddenly invented a law out of nowhere. That's no justice system.

Secondly, even if it is, by a slim chance, illegal in Sudan to name a teddy bear muhammed, we are talking about someone's life here. It is no joke for a teacher (that too a volunteer...someone with good intentions) to get punished for something as trivial as this.

And this point differs from mine, how?

Cultural tolerance is fine, but when this tolerance starts to become malignant, we need to stop tolerating.

How is it malignant. One African regime is doing it. 54 other Muslim countries havent done it as yet.

Definitely, when you are in Rome, do as the romans do.

However, there is no need to respect the law. If the law is stupid in your opinion, don't hesitate to let the world know what you think.

I didn't say I respected any law in fact. It's not for me to say Saudis should all be mixing and attending nightclubs though. I do find this naming thing bizaare however.