edal wrote:
OK, some of you still have not realized what's going on so I'll try to explain it a different way.
Imagine that you're in the bible belt in the USA, there are folk living there who are hard-core Christians and so far as they are concerned you're either a Christian or you're going to hell. Now, head off to Toys R Us and buy a bear. Next Sunday go to the largest church you can find, stand in the middle of the stage and announce that your new furry friend is called Jesus Christ, son of God.
What sort of reaction are you going to get?
To repeat what I said earlier, there are no images of the prophet in Islamic culture. By calling the bear Mohammed you are (in their culture) saying that their prophet looks like a bear, an animal. In Islamic culture most animals are regarded as unclean so naming an animal after the prophet is a really REALLY bad idea. Some of you have raised other points so I will try to answer them:
She didn't name the Teddy Bear by herself. - No, she was in charge of a class of Christian schoolchildren and when they came up with the name she should have told them that this was wrong.
She likely didn't know about the "law". - She was working in a Muslim country and she should have been aware of basic Islamic law. Most countries (including those in the West) have a basic principle that ignorance of the law is no excuse and if she was not sure of something she should have asked.
She taught in a private, Christian school. - Which would be governed by the laws of Sudan, religious or otherwise.
She didn't hurt anyone. - Yes she did, she offended an awful lot of devout Muslims
Ed Almos
You're missing the point though -
She's a divorced, working, Western mother in a country that represses its people - especially the women - to a horrific scale on a day-to-day basis. She's a threat. That's what it's about.
She likely didn't realise naming a teddy bear Mohammed would cause so much offense; I don't think many Brits would have thought that (actually, the vast majority of the British muslim community have been quick to say they think it's ridiculous, it wasn't particularly offensive, and the whole thing is plain embarassing for them). Even those that do realise you don't name things Mohammed probably wouldn't have thought anything of naming a Teddy bear it, aided by a class of 8 year olds. Did she mean any harm? No.
Cultural Misunderstanding.
It's all conveniently distracting from the fact that this is a country where rape and genocide are arbitrarily handed out and condoned by the govt on a day-to-day basis...
02 Dec 2007, 6:44 am
