Not too long ago I heard about the protests in Sudan where very upset people asked for the execution of Gillian Gibbons. A teacher who allowed her students to call their class teddy bear “Muhammad.” She was convicted of insulting Islam.
She was sentenced to deportation and 15 days in jail, of which she only spent nine. After lawmakers from England, who are also Muslim members of the House of Lords cooperated in the process of asking the president of Sudan to release Gibbons.
The teacher was finally released and taken back home, to England where the media overwhelmed her with all the attention. I had to look more into this news story for another class and I had the opportunity to see some of the press statements that she gave on an interview. She said that she was treated well in jail and that everyone was very kind to her.
I’m glad she had the courtesy of saying exactly how she felt, pointing out that she was treated kindly. When people don’t know about other cultures they say things (that are usually to denigrate that culture) based on the few facts they have heard (if they have heard anything at all). I’m glad to see that the Sudanese government was somewhat lenient towards this educator, because she didn’t mean to offend anyone.
::Edit:: This post is to praise the teacher’s attitude towards the Sudanese governmen. I believe that in no way, shape or form have I stated through this post that Islam is evil. I just wanted to give props to people like this teacher that did not use her position, and the media attention to denigrate those who jailed her. ::end edit::
