Teacher may get beating and jail time over a teddy bear
By dreamy1
@dreamy1 (3811)
United States
November 28, 2007 2:26pm CST
"A British teacher arrested in Sudan after allowing her class to name a teddy bear 'Mohammed' has been charged by authorities with offending religion, British officials say. . . ." (http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/11/28/sudan.bears/?iref=mpstoryview)
She apparently could receive 40 lashes or up to a year in jail.
How ridiculous is that? I'm sorry if this offends some Muslims on the board but this is utterly ridiculous IMHO.
2 people like this
2 responses
@Stiletto (4579)
•
29 Nov 07
Well of course I'm sorry for the woman and wouldn't want to be in her position. I mean what she did was foolish considering where she is working but she was obviously not aware of the potential consequences of her actions. It just highlights the need to be fully aware of cultural sensitivities when working or travelling abroad. It can be a risky business - particularly in countries subject to those types of laws. As it turns out she was sentenced to 15 days in jail but it could have been a whole lot worse.
1 person likes this
@desertdarlene (8911)
• United States
30 Nov 07
I agree with the last post, from what I understand, it was the children who wanted to name the teddy bear Mohamed and it was after the most popular boy in the class, not the prophet. I am all for following the law when going abroad, but I feel that this teacher is specifically being targeted because she's a foreigner.
To me, the punishment is more out of hatred and not correction. She should have been publicly reprimanded, forced to apologize, and deported, but not jailed and beaten. But, I guess that's the way they do things there. I have to keep in mind that many countries in the world don't allow any type of free speech.
