This is just ridiculous

[marks]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7118245.stm

"A British teacher charged in Sudan with insulting religion, inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs has been brought to court.
...
She was arrested after complaints that her primary school pupils had called their class teddy bear Muhammad."

Just what the hell.

[ChopperDave]

Welcome to the Middle East.

[dissonance]

Welcome to the Middle East.

QFT

And then, in the blue corner, we have the Scopes trial.
Why are we in this handbasket, and where are we going? Oh well.

[oomomo]

yup that's middle east

someone from our country is more unlucky though as she is going to be executed in kuwait for allegedly killing her boss... mind you she's a she

[xen]

Another fantastic example of justice.

[Sathor]

Sudan's top clerics have called for the full measure of the law to be used against Mrs Gibbons and labelled her actions part of a Western plot against Islam.

They just drive the Islam further down the abyss ... must be sad for true and peaceful muslims to see this developement

[ChopperDave]

It seems that everyone thinks the West has a "plot" except the West, who thinks we're making shit up as we go.

[Kubata]

Edit: I didn't have anything really positive to say about this situation.

It sucks.

[Sathor]

I don't remember the West doing the same either ... I think there were times in America you had a hard time if someone suspected you of being a communist ... if you were a black ... same in Germany and the whole rest of the West ^^

[CanMan]

Rofl, I heard this in school, only what was said was "A girl in grade 1 was arrested for naming the bear"

[Athlete{UK}]

Moving to serious discussion to encourage mature debate on this topic.

[Bema]

She was found guilty today and sentenced to 15 days in prison.

The foreign office issued a "harsh statement" to Sudan when They should have just walked in and taken her out. Or bribed the judge. What's the point of being a significant world power if you can't throw your weight around in such trivial issues?

And yes - we're right. And they're wrong.

[Mr. Happy]

Devil's Advocate time!

I don't think the people in Sudan realize just what a teddy bear is, that it's something children are really attached to and love, and that that's why the children named it Muhammed.

They just think "oh, some Christian British woman teaching at some upscale school named an ANIMAL after my PROPHET. WTF"

Most of us may not live in a country with Islamic law and values, but Sudan obviously is. How would you like it if someone named their platypus Jesus and you are a die-hard christian? By that I mean, you'd probably be pretty damn upset.

At any rate, 15 days in jail? Whatever. Should their be any jail? No, probably not, but whatever. A complete misunderstanding between two cultures has resulted in a nothing punishment for someone who can now write a book.

[RawMeat3000]

At least she didn't get sent to Syria to be tortured.

[Zipfinator]

This is just stupid...

BTW was the Scopes trial the one with the slave who said he was free because of the states his master brought him to or the one about the Italians being blamed for killing 2 people and robbing them after the 1918 Red Scare. I think it's the slave one but I'm not sure...