SUDAN/UK: British teacher charged with insulting Islam in Sudan

Residents in Khartoum react with anger following the arrest of a British primary school teacher who is accused of insulting Islam's Prophet by allowing her students to name a teddy bear Mohammad. A British teacher detained in Sudan after her class called a teddy bear Mohammad was charged on Wednesday with insulting Islam in a move that sparked a diplomatic row between London and Khartoum. Gillian Gibbons, 54, was also charged with inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs, Sudanese official media said. If convicted, she could face 40 lashes, a fine, or one year in jail. "Khartoum North prosecution unit has completed its investigation and has charged the Briton Gillian (Gibbons) under Article 125 of the criminal code," the Sudanese news agency SUNA said, quoting a senior Justice Ministry official. In London, a British Foreign Office spokesman confirmed that Gibbons had been charged and officials said Foreign Secretary David Miliband was calling in the Sudanese ambassador over the affair. "We are surprised and disappointed by this development and the foreign secretary will summon as a matter of urgency the Sudanese ambassador to discuss this matter further," Prime Minister Gordon Brown's official spokesman said. The matter would go before a court on Thursday and Gibbons, who is from Liverpool, was expected to appear. Fellow teachers said they did not believe Gibbons had intended to insult Islam and had made an innocent mistake in choosing the name. Earlier on Wednesday, three British embassy officials and a teaching colleague from the Unity High School where Gibbons worked were allowed to visit her for more than 90 minutes. British consul Russell Phillips declinded to give too many details but did confirm that embassy officials had met Ms. Gibbons and that she said she is being treated well. Gibbons was arrested after some parents complained about the bear being named after the Prophet Mohammad. Teachers at the school said Gibbons had asked her class of 7-year-olds to choose their favourite name for the bear, and 20 of the 23 had voted for Mohammad. A 7-year-old student called Mohammad told Reuters this week that he had suggested his own name be used for the bear. In a writing exercise students were allowed to take the bear home and asked to keep a diary of what they did with the toy. These accounts were put together in a book entitled "My Name is Mohammad". Leaflets were distributed in Khartoum calling for protests after Friday prayers, but many ordinary Sudanese said they were ready to forgive Gibbons if she apologised. Many Sudanese had not heard the full story and thought she had made a model of an animal and named it Mohammad after Islam's Prophet. Rumours of riots, violent protests and cars burning near the school were rife but the streets were calm and there was no sign of demonstrations.

ITN Source | November 30, 2007

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