The UK papers have been yakking about an incident in Sudan in which a British schoolteacher allowed students to name a classroom teddy bear "Muhammad". The name supposedly won in a classroom vote, beating "Hassan" and "Abdullah". The teacher has been taken into custody, and could, under Sudanese law, be sentenced to time in jail, 40 lashes, or a fine, reports the BBC. The teacher maintains that it was an innocent mistake and that she did nothing wrong.
My take: it is a matter of personal opinion whether or not Arab countries' strictness with the name Muhammad is overblown. What I know is that if a first grade teacher in the middle US were to name a teddy bear "Jesus Christ", American Christians would be outraged, and understandably so. One of the principal causes for the mess the world is in right now is people's inability to respect others' religious traditions. I am not a Muslim, but I respect the beliefs of those who are, and if I were to insult their faith, their resulting anger would be justified. I happen to believe that forty lashes is an excessive punishment, but if the teacher decided to play with fire and got burned, it is her problem.
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