There is a story in the news today about a British schoolteacher in Sudan who was arrested for letting her schoolchildren name their class teddy bear Muhammad.  20 out of 23 students picked this as their favorite name.  Yet when the parents found out, they complained and the teacher was arrested.  I don't want to offend anyone myself by asking about this, but I just don't understand.

Here's the story:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21973378/?GT1=10547 - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21973378/?GT1=10547

Sudan arrests teacher over 'Mohammed' bear

Briton allowed her class of 7-year-olds to choose teddy bear's name

updated 5:15 a.m. PT, Mon., Nov. 26, 2007 KHARTOUM, Sudan - A British primary school teacher has been arrested in Sudan, accused of insulting Islam's Prophet by letting her class of 7-year-olds name a teddy bear Muhammad, her school said on Monday.

Colleagues of Gillian Gibbons told Reuters they feared for her safety after receiving reports that young men had already started gathering outside the Khartoum police station where the Liverpool woman was being held.

Teachers at Unity High School in central Khartoum said Gibbons, 54, made an innocent mistake and simply let her pupils choose their favorite name for the toy as part of a school project.

Police arrested Gibbons on Sunday at her home inside the school premises, said Unity director Robert Boulos, after a number of parents made a complaint to Sudan's Ministry of Education.

Boulos said she had since been charged with "blasphemy," an offense he said was punishable with up to three months in prison and a fine.

A spokesman from the British Embassy in Khartoum said it was still unclear whether Gibbons had been formerly charged. "We are following it up with the authorities and trying to meet her in person," he said.

Boulos said he had decided to close down the school until January for fear of reprisals in Sudan's predominantly Muslim capital. "This is a very sensitive issue."

"We are very worried about her safety," he added. "This was a completely innocent mistake. Miss Gibbons would have never wanted to insult Islam."

Class voted on toy name
Boulos said Gibbons was following a British National Curriculum course designed to teach young pupils about animals and their habitats. This year's animal was the bear.

Gibbons, who joined Unity in August, asked a girl to bring in her teddy bear to help the second grade class focus, said Boulos.

The teacher then asked the class to name the toy. "They came up with eight names including Abdullah, Hassan and Mohammed. Then she explained what it meant to vote and asked them to choose the name." Twenty out of the 23 children chose Muhammad.

Each child was allowed to take the bear home at weekends and asked to write a diary about what they did with the toy. Each entry was collected in a book with a picture of the bear on the cover, next to the message "My name is Muhammad," said Boulos.

The bear itself was not marked or labeled with the name in any way, he added, saying Sudanese police had now seized the book and had asked to interview the 7-year-old girl.

Boulos said the first he knew about the course was last week when he got a phone call from the Ministry of Education, saying a number of Muslim parents had made formal complaints.

One Muslim teacher at Unity, who also has a child in Gibbons' class, said she had not found the project offensive.

"I had no problem with it at all," the teacher said. "I know Gillian and she would never have meant it as an insult. I was just impressed that she got them to vote."

The country's state-controlled Sudanese Media Centre reported late Sunday that Gibbons had been arrested for "insulting the Prophet Muhammad." It said charges were being prepared "under article 125 of the criminal law" which covers insults against faith and religion.

No one was immediately available for comment from Sudan's ministries of Education or Justice.

Unity, an independent school founded in 1902, is governed by a board representing major Christian denominations in Sudan, but teaches both Christians and Muslims aged 4 to 18.

It was probably a misunderstanding on behalf of the parents who might have thought that she intentially did it to offend the prophet. Also, in Islam, we are to respect all prophets, not just Mohammed, there would have been the same unfortunate results if the teddy bear had been named Jesus or Moses or any other prophets name. This is because in Islam we are to revere and respect all prophets and to name a teddy bear after one of them would be viewed as not befitting to a prophets high held status in Muslims hearts and even in any Christian or Jews heart. Im sure you as a westerner might think what is the big deal and probably this may seem as a bit too extreme of a reaction, but it is just out of strong respect to them that we do not associate them with anything that may seem belittling to their status.

You know, there are many many people with the name Muhammad with varies spellings. Many people have the name Jesus also, not so much with Mose I don't think, but some people have named their cat moses.

So with naming a teddy bear, the problem is....

I understand the respect but if many people have these names then there shouldn't really be a problem with naming a teddy bear.

Being in that kind of area with things being sensitive perhaps it should have been wise to check about it.

 The reply from Arab was concise, exact and explainatory. Imagine some children in a class naming a dog as Jesus in a christian country. What would be the reaction of the parents to that dog being called Jesus. I believe no one will take it happily. In England and elsewhere, there are laws to protect the honor of Jesus. Such a bad deed may come under blasphemy.

 Also it was silly of that teacher to have named the bear as Muhammad. I am sure being a teacher, she knew who was Muhammad. Why the teacher did it?? There were so many other names available. There is no shortage of names. So it was an under cover bad work of the teacher and the teacher should be severely reprimanded.

 There is a very remote chance of making an innocent, unintentional mistake. i.e. because the children liked the teddy bear very much and they also liked the (best) name of Muhammad. So the teacher let them name the teddy bear Muhammad. What can we say ! Let the teacher speak for herself.

Well a bot iff the subject...

Well, if she did allow the bear to be name Mohammed, she is not very bright! Clearly did not know where she was and the background of her students.

Its like when I went to Turkey, I read up o th country. It is against the law to insult Ataturk. Well I  had no plans to do it but it is good to know. Accordingly, it is against the law to insult religion. You should respect the culture. And if you are not sure, ask!!

Chelle, in other places, cultures and societies, they have different outlooks on life. They have different norms. In the US, we think there is "free speech" and to an extent that is true. But for instance, it is against the law to make fun of security measures at airports. You don't have complete "free" speech.  Every place in the world has certain things they value or prioritize.  it is just different.  

Hi Chelle,

You have got many good responses. I need not say much, actually there's nothing much left.

Let me revive the same, but in a different way.

Prophet Muhammad  holds a a very special place in our hearts. There's a verse in the Holy Quran, which says ," The Prophet is closer to the believers than themselves"

And a hadith
"By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, none of you truly believes until I am dearer to him than his own self, his wealth, his children and all the people."

There are three qualities for  which whoever has it tastes sweetness of  faith and one amongst these three qualities  is , Allah and His Messenger are dearer to him than anyone else.

What i intend u to explain thru these ,above hadith and verse is that Prophet , peace be upon him. always holds a very dear position in our hearts. Its one of the signs of a believer. We do respect him very much. For, he is the chosen person - messenger of Allah. He faced many hardships for the spread of peace. He is our Ideal . How can we tolerate any insults . Be it in any form. Will u tolerate Chelle, a person whom u respect and love, is insulted.

I don't think so that there's any person left who does n't know oF Mohammad {PBUH}. He might atleast know that Mohammad {Peace be upon him}, is someone sacred in Islam. So i feel that the insult was intentional.  If children were wrong, it was the teacher to correct  them , instead of agreeing.

There are many such incidents happening, wherein our feelings get hurted. But alhamdullilah, we are facing them with peaceful protests.

But again, if the teacher agrees her mistake then its okay, Did she apologise ?

While i agree that you should learn about a country & people that you're going to.......

The teddy bear was named after a student not the prophet. As i said earlier many people have the name Muhammed, spelt in varies ways.

Student defends teacher jailed in Sudan

November 28, 2007 - 2:33PM

Gillian Gibbons, a 54-year-old teacher at the Unity High School in Khartoum, was arrested on Sunday after complaints from parents that she had insulted the Prophet Mohammad and is facing a third night in jail without being charged.

"The teacher asked me what I wanted to call the teddy," the boy said shyly, his voice barely rising above a whisper. "I said Mohammad. I named it after my name," he added.

Sitting in his garden wearing shorts, his family, who did not want their full names used, urged him to describe what had happened.

He said he was not thinking of Islam's Prophet when asked to suggest a name, adding most of the class agreed with his choice.

In a writing exercise students were asked to keep a diary of what they did with the teddy bear. "Some people took the teddy home and took it places with them ... like the swimming pool," the child said.

Mohammad said Gibbons was "very nice" and he would be upset if she never came back to teach. He added Gibbons had not discussed religion nor did she mention the Prophet.

"We studied maths and English and spelling," he said, rubbing his mop of short, curly hair.

Abdel Rahim Ahmed Abdel Rahim from the Sudan police force's Criminal Investigation Directorate said today a decision whether to charge Gibbons with insulting Islam would be made once investigations were completed.

"She is being questioned. Then the whole matter is going to be evaluated to see whether she is going to be charged or not," he said.

If convicted of insulting Islam, Gibbons could be sentenced to 40 lashes, six months in prison or a fine, lawyers said.

Teaching colleagues and officials from the British embassy brought food for Gibbons but were not allowed to visit her.

Mohammad's family said they got most of their information from the papers after the school was closed early yesterday.

"I'm annoyed ... that this has escalated in this way," his mother said. "If it happened as Mohammad said there is no problem here - it was not intended."

His uncle said little Mohammad was a good Muslim and was already praying five times a day. "We want to also hear her side of the story," he added. Both declined to reveal their full names.

Unity director Robert Boulos had said the school would be closed until January because he was afraid of reprisals in mainly Muslim Khartoum.

In 2005 a Sudanese paper was closed for three months and its editor arrested for reprinting articles questioning the roots of the Prophet Mohammad, a move which prompted angry protests.

Al-Wifaq editor Mohamed Taha was later abducted from his home by armed men and beheaded.

Sudan's justice minister declined to immediately comment.

A spokesman from the Sudanese embassy in London later said Gibbons would probably be cleared and released soon.

"The police is (sic) bound to investigate," embassy spokesman Khalid al-Mubarak told BBC radio.

"I am pretty certain that this minute incident will be clarified very quickly and this teacher who has been helping us with the teaching of children will be safe and will be cleared."

Asked about the potential punishments he said: "My impression is that the whole thing could probably be settled amicably long before we reach stages like these ... Our relationship with Britain is so good that we wouldn't like such a minute event to be overblown."

Reuters

This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/11/28/1196036959913.h tml

in the west nothing apart from money is sacred and important enough to be defended.

in other countries religion and ideology is sacred and very important and is defended.

which is best 

Angel wrote: While i agree that you should learn about a country & people that you're going to....... The teddy bear was named after a student not the prophet. As i said earlier many people have the name Muhammed, spelt in varies ways. Student defends teacher jailed in Sudan November 28, 2007 - 2:33PM A 7-year-old Sudanese student today defended his British teacher accused of insulting Islam saying he had chosen to call a teddy bear Mohammad after his own name. Gillian Gibbons, a 54-year-old teacher at the Unity High School in Khartoum, was arrested on Sunday after complaints from parents that she had insulted the Prophet Mohammad and is facing a third night in jail without being charged. "The teacher asked me what I wanted to call the teddy," the boy said shyly, his voice barely rising above a whisper. "I said Mohammad. I named it after my name," he added. Sitting in his garden wearing shorts, his family, who did not want their full names used, urged him to describe what had happened. He said he was not thinking of Islam's Prophet when asked to suggest a name, adding most of the class agreed with his choice. In a writing exercise students were asked to keep a diary of what they did with the teddy bear. "Some people took the teddy home and took it places with them ... like the swimming pool," the child said. Mohammad said Gibbons was "very nice" and he would be upset if she never came back to teach. He added Gibbons had not discussed religion nor did she mention the Prophet. "We studied maths and English and spelling," he said, rubbing his mop of short, curly hair. Abdel Rahim Ahmed Abdel Rahim from the Sudan police force's Criminal Investigation Directorate said today a decision whether to charge Gibbons with insulting Islam would be made once investigations were completed. "She is being questioned. Then the whole matter is going to be evaluated to see whether she is going to be charged or not," he said. If convicted of insulting Islam, Gibbons could be sentenced to 40 lashes, six months in prison or a fine, lawyers said. Teaching colleagues and officials from the British embassy brought food for Gibbons but were not allowed to visit her. Mohammad's family said they got most of their information from the papers after the school was closed early yesterday. "I'm annoyed ... that this has escalated in this way," his mother said. "If it happened as Mohammad said there is no problem here - it was not intended." His uncle said little Mohammad was a good Muslim and was already praying five times a day. "We want to also hear her side of the story," he added. Both declined to reveal their full names. Unity director Robert Boulos had said the school would be closed until January because he was afraid of reprisals in mainly Muslim Khartoum. In 2005 a Sudanese paper was closed for three months and its editor arrested for reprinting articles questioning the roots of the Prophet Mohammad, a move which prompted angry protests. Al-Wifaq editor Mohamed Taha was later abducted from his home by armed men and beheaded. Sudan's justice minister declined to immediately comment. A spokesman from the Sudanese embassy in London later said Gibbons would probably be cleared and released soon. "The police is (sic) bound to investigate," embassy spokesman Khalid al-Mubarak told BBC radio. "I am pretty certain that this minute incident will be clarified very quickly and this teacher who has been helping us with the teaching of children will be safe and will be cleared." Asked about the potential punishments he said: "My impression is that the whole thing could probably be settled amicably long before we reach stages like these ... Our relationship with Britain is so good that we wouldn't like such a minute event to be overblown." Reuters This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/11/28/1196036959913.h tml

Salaams,

Even the possibility of 40 lashes is wildly unreasonable.  She should never have been jailed, but possibly suspended until this could be investigated.  Why so harsh?  And since she is in jail, she definitely should be allowed visitors.  If it were reasonably proven by the preponderance of the evidence that she intended insult, which at this moment nothing points to, then she should just be fired and possibly fined and sent home.

As a new Muslim years ago, I could have made a similar mistake, most of us could have.  Come on!  We need to be realistic.  I probably wouldn't have because of the idea that I grew up somehow knowing that we wouldn't name a toy "Jesus".  Native English American speakers don't often name their children "Jesus" unless they are Muslims.

The teacher is being charged with insulting islam and spreading hatred.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/img/2007/world/2911_gibbons_lg_a.jpg">

"But a teddy bear in your culture is different from a teddy bear in our culture," he said.

"In our culture a teddy bear is a wild and dangerous animal. It's not something to be cuddled by children before they sleep. This is important to remember," he said.

THis is a really good point.  It's not like the children were giving the name of Muhammad to a wild, vicious killer bear.  They were giving the name of Muhammad to a creature which comforts them and makes them feel safe.  How is that bad or disrespectful?

This situation has got completely out of hand.

She did not mean to offend.

She will complete her punishment, then return to the UK

The thousands that are now marching in the streets are not justified, but they are ignorant of the important teachings of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuH).( I expect many in the crowd have done far worse things than she, yet hide behind their sin in this life.)

He would forgive her (pbuH)

As does Allah, if there was any malice in her heart.

She is paying the price. And she will be affected all life by a silly error that got out of hand.

martha wrote: This situation has got completely out of hand. She did not mean to offend. She will complete her punishment, then return to the UK The thousands that are now marching in the streets are not justified, but they are ignorant of the important teachings of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuH).( I expect many in the crowd have done far worse things than she, yet hide behind their sin in this life.) He would forgive her (pbuH) As does Allah, if there was any malice in her heart. She is paying the price. And she will be affected all life by a silly error that got out of hand.

It is a shame that we Muslims do not get fired up about the real problems facing the lack of Islamic Civilization. These Muslims are ready to kill and die and show their love for trivial matters that are easy to respond to, but the matters that require self discipline and self reliance and awareness are ignored. This attitude of, "yea...we sure showed them" is something new amongst Muslims. It is reactionary garbage. Useless for social change or even  social justice. "Yea...we sure showed them"..... Yea you sure did, you have shown the world just how ignorant you are. How sad. We Muslims are the closet thing to the Quran most westerners will ever come. And much of their chances of getting closer to the Quran can greatly be influenced by our manners, behavior, and actions. Don't preach Quran, read and live Quran. Thats what the first three generations did, and that is one major reason why so many converted to the faith.

You made nice points Sister.

Andalus said:

It is a shame that we Muslims do not get fired up about the real problems facing the lack of Islamic Civilization. These Muslims are ready to kill and die and show their love for trivial matters that are easy to respond to, but the matters that require self discipline and self reliance and awareness are ignored. This attitude of, "yea...we sure showed them" is something new amongst Muslims. It is reactionary garbage. Useless for social change or even  social justice. "Yea...we sure showed them"..... Yea you sure did, you have shown the world just how ignorant you are. How sad. We Muslims are the closet thing to the Quran most westerners will ever come. And much of their chances of getting closer to the Quran can greatly be influenced by our manners, behavior, and actions. Don't preach Quran, read and live Quran. Thats what the first three generations did, and that is one major reason why so many converted to the faith.

A very good point here indeed, one I wholeheartedly agree with.

The problem in most Muslim countries (according to my own experiences) is that Islam is mostly cultural and not necessarily religious. Herjihad mentioned a while back in an earlier post about cultural relativity, that is the issue! t is to my understanding that Muslims in these countries know their religion well enough to practice but not to understand. It is not a paradoxical thing here when, one can just mimick their forefathers beliefs and practices without understanding, so, with this in mind whe local religious authoritis exclaim to the masses that Muhammad is the greatest thing in the world and one worth dying for, anything that resembles opposition to that thought incites anger in the public masses. It's sad to say, but quite true that Muslims in third world countries are in fact ignorant.

It is not to belittle them but we must understand that education is not a big factor in third world countries. If critical reasoning is not taught in these countries how can we expect the masses to act "logical?" So when we see gun toting masses call for the execution of a teacher all because she named a bear after a student named Muhammad (not to mention she does not look like the natives of that region which one may hypothesize why they are more inclined to call for her execution) we have to wonder the educational (and religious) background of the masses.

Let me retrack from an earlier comment. It is not just a cultural issue but an educational one at that.

Chelle wrote: And how are they supposed to get more educated if they tend to want to execute the teachers for simple mistakes?

That is exactly the problem.

Little money is spent on education and more on weaponry and other unknown variables. My post was pointing out that education is one of the factors why people react ignorantly, but that is not to say that 'intelligent' individuals act intelligently, it is to show that educated individuals most likely would not react in the manner of these people have acted.

More breaking news:

Sudan change of mind.... Less than a week after sentencing a British teacher to 15 days imprisonment, the panel of Sudanese clerics who ruled that by allowing her class to name a teddy bear Mohammad, she had insulted religion... have reviewed their original conclusion and now realise that it is they who are the guilty party... Read the full story here: http://babylon-blog.blogspot.com/ - http://babylon-blog.blogspot.com/

BTW. A big hello to all my Muslim and Non-Muslim friends at Islamicity.
It's good to be back.  

Hi Chelle,

Don't you like satire? If you read what I have said about the clerics in Sudan, I'm sure you will realise that my article isn't intended to insult Islam. Indeed, as I member of this forum for over six years, I have big respect for Islam and Muslims in general.....However, I also have much contempt for those who use Islam for their own selfish, narrow-minded (often politically motivated) aims.

If you do a search for my older posts, you will find that I have been fairly consistent in my views over the years.

Regards, Colin

PS. I'm glad you enjoyed the dig at Pres Bush.  :----)

PPS. I am also pleased that the teacher is out of prison.

Chelle wrote: No, I do enjoy satire, I just meant it's too bad the story wasn't true.

DOH!!! 

Assalamu Alaikum,

It is great news that the woman has been pardoned.

Muslims must play a greater role to guide humanity by performing morally superior actions and following great examples of the Prophet Muhammad ( SAW ) and his companions.

Welcome back, Colin.

Jazak Allah Khair and thanks everyone for good posts and replies.

May Allah guide us all.

Peace

British teacher arrives home from Sudan

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071204/ap_on_re_eu/sudan_british_teacher - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071204/ap_on_re_eu/sudan_britis h_teacher

Gibbons said she didn't want her experience "to put anyone off going to Sudan � in fact I know of a lovely school that needs a new Year Two teacher."

LOL!  Good to see she still has her sense of humor. 

When they offend muslims in their homeland it is honest mistake. When muslim does honest mistake in west it is crime accessories

Walid wrote: When they offend muslims in their homeland it is honest mistake. When muslim does honest mistake in west it is crime accessories

Well said brother, It may run into many pages when we discuss this sentence with few of our members here, but again its going to be off-topic. .

There is a couplet in urdu,

Walid wrote: When they offend muslims in their homeland it is honest mistake. When muslim does honest mistake in west it is crime accessories

This is rubbish. I don't think trying to blow buildings up is an "honest mistake." You don't believe that, extremism is alive in our religion and people using ignorance to deface Islam, by promoting violent behavior? 

Tom123 wrote:    What I find to be surprising and a bit sickening is that while this government arrested a woman and there was a big deal about whether naming a teddy bear Muhammad was a crime or not, they are at the same time committing genocide and war crimes in Darfur and the Sudanese governments' members have led a war in Southern Sudan where starvation, enslavement and mass murder were used as weapons to murder over 2 million people.    Isn't it a bit hypocritical of the mass murderers in Khartoum to be debating over whether a woman who called a teddy bear Muhammad is a criminal yet they themselves are responsible for some of the most horrific recent crimes against humanity? Shouldn't Muslims be also considering whether Khartoum's actions are not offensive to Islam's teachings?    Cristo Vive!        - Tomasz

I 100% agree. A large portion of the Muslim and Non-Muslim world is hypotcritical. This is what I battle over Whisper about.

Israfil wrote: Tom123 wrote:    What I find to be surprising and a bit sickening is that while this government arrested a woman and there was a big deal about whether naming a teddy bear Muhammad was a crime or not, they are at the same time committing genocide and war crimes in Darfur and the Sudanese governments' members have led a war in Southern Sudan where starvation, enslavement and mass murder were used as weapons to murder over 2 million people.    Isn't it a bit hypocritical of the mass murderers in Khartoum to be debating over whether a woman who called a teddy bear Muhammad is a criminal yet they themselves are responsible for some of the most horrific recent crimes against humanity? Shouldn't Muslims be also considering whether Khartoum's actions are not offensive to Islam's teachings?    Cristo Vive!        - Tomasz I 100% agree.

can I join? Tom

I would like to point out that it actually wasn't parents that complained and started all this... it was a secretary that got fired and decided to get back at the school.  She couldn't even convince parents to file the complaint, so she had to do it herself.

She almost got a woman public beaten (or if the mob had its way killed) to get revenge for being fired.

Sadly, once again, its not about the love of the Prophet, its not about protecting Islam, its about using other People's love of the Prophet and Islam to get what they want.

Chelle wrote: There is a story in the news today about a British schoolteacher in Sudan who was arrested for letting her schoolchildren name their class teddy bear Muhammad.  .................... I don't want to offend anyone myself by asking about this, but I just don't understand.

Now as Angela has added some facts to the story and teacher has gone back where she belonged. What a white British teacher was doing in the god awful place like Sudan in the dark continent in the first.

Haven't these neo colonial masters got their fill of the trouble making?

Didn't you notice she was working at a Christian run school of colonial vintage. And such things aren't unheard off in these colonial era schools if you care to investigate the history of their missions.

What else could they  do to trivialize the personality of the Beloved Prophet in the minds of young children in seemingly harmless teddy bear naming exercise. As sister Haifa said  she wasn't too bright for being so ignorant of the consequences in case the mountain became of her molehill!

Are you a Muslim yourself?

Sign*Reader wrote: Are you a Muslim yourself?

No, I am not.  I don't currently belong to any church.

Sign...

Mindful of the 'a' at the end of my name.  Angel and Angela are two different people.

Sign*Reader wrote: Angel wrote: The teddy bear was named after a student not the prophet. As i said earlier many people have the name Muhammed, spelt in varies ways. Student defends teacher jailed in Sudan November 28, 2007 - 2:33PM A 7-year-old Sudanese student today defended his British teacher accused of insulting Islam saying he had chosen to call a teddy bear Mohammad after his own name. Angel: You have copy n pasted quite a few news clips Don't you think 54 year teacher should have more brains than this 7 years old student? And in place like Sudan she has put this poor 7 years old on the hot seat!

The parents of the child put him in the hot seat not the teacher. The parents urged the child to do the right thing and come forward.

Do you know how much trouble he has bargained for a dumb teacher? He might get tarred and feathered by other kids in the neighborhood while the  teacher is safely back home?

The teacher is not dumb!

The principal knew about the activity and the parents knew about the activity and naming the teddy bear, notices where sent out to parents beforehand informing them of the activity if there was in objection it would have been then not after the fact.

The consenus is the naming had nothing to do with the prophet. I would think that the principal would have stepped in otherwise and mentioned something to the teacher.

Why is the teacher solely to blame for being ignorant, the principal didn't complain so why isn't she not being labelled as ignorant??

I read, and yet to confirm, that those who sent the teacher to jail realised they were in the wrong and themselves to jail.  

Angel wrote: I read, and yet to confirm, that those who sent the teacher to jail realised they were in the wrong and themselves to jail.

Unfortunately, that was from a spoof site.  It wasn't really true.  They still think they were right.

Chelle wrote: Angel wrote: I read, and yet to confirm, that those who sent the teacher to jail realised they were in the wrong and themselves to jail.   Unfortunately, that was from a spoof site.  It wasn't really true.  They still think they were right.

Yes Angel, don't believe everything you read on the net..."babylon" is distinctly satirical and heavily laced with surreal and often bone dry humo(u)r....but remember.....all the best humour has an element of truth.  :---)

Tom123,

Unfortunately few people care about the suffering of Africans- and this applies to Arabs as much as it applies to the West.

I've heard several theories on why this is so. I had the luxury of speaking with a Sudanese African who recently had received asylum from that region (I didn't dare to ask how) and informed me on how bad it is there. He told me the janjaweed took his wife, killed his children and let him to die in his burning house. He said since, he has tried to get Muslim scholars and other officials from around the world to get them on the ball with the issue. Unfortunately, he has a lot of unsuccess and some success. Unfortunately, Africa is seen as an expendable continent (funny how we think about this as this is the birthplace of humanity).

Thanks chelle and colin

i'll end my confirming now. Anyway apart from that little bit I still stand by the rest of my post.

what's so funny about the neighborhood knowing what was going on in their school.