In November, a British teacher was convicted in a Sudanese court for insulting Islam. The teacher allowed children to name a teddy bear Muhammad. The Islamic world, and the Sudanese government lashed out at this because they said it defamed the name of Muhammad, the holy prophet. Gillian Gibson, the teacher, claimed it was not to insult, and that she saw no harm in it since many men of the faith have that name. The courts sentenced her to 15 days in court, and then deportation. Which is alot less then the 40 lashes the court originaly sought to get.
The reaction to this seems to be ridiculous. I understand that Muslims take the name of the prophet meaningful, but where is there real harm in children naming a toy Muhammad? After all, Gibson made a good point, many men are named Muhammad, but that is not taken as an insult. The Sudanese government should not be so concernced with the name of a child's toy, and concentrate on the real problems that country has, perhaps like issues in Darfur! I just think the Islamic groups and governments have taken things way out of proportion. You would not see a democratic, primarily Christian, country imprison someone because they name a doll Jesus!
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