Gillian Gibbons Charged with Insulting Islam for Teddy Bear Incident

Gillian Gibbons has been charged with offending the religion of Islam after allowing her students to name a teddy bear “Mohammed.” Gibbons, 54, was teaching at a school in the Sudan when she was arrested by authorities who cited the country’s Islamic Sharia law when charging the teacher with insulting Islam.

A British national, Gibbons had been teaching at an elite school that catered to wealthy Sudanese and expatriates. As part of a class project designed to teach the children about animals and their habitats Gibbons introduced the teddy bear a teaching tool and allowed the children to name mascot.

After naming the bear and creating a story for the toy the children were allowed to take turns carrying the mascot along with the story home. The cover of the story had the name “Mohammed” clearly printed out, something several parents were offended by.

Those parents complained to police who then arrested Gibbons in accordance to the constitution of Sudan. Gibbons is now facing 40 lashes and the possibility of a jail term or fine.

The British government has been trying to secure Gibbons’ release and have provided her with consul in the matter. Gibbons is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

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