Insulting Islam's Prophet

[comiso90]

So is Muhammad Ali being disrespectful by using the name "Muhammad"?

[Aggie08]

Who knows, that teddy bear was named after the most popular kid in class...

[mkloby]

Originally Posted by Matt308

You play with fire, you might get burned. Remember the US kid in Singapore that was caught spray painting graffiti? He was sentenced to an ungodly number of lashes. His rich daddy pleaded with the US authorities to intervene and the US public just laughed at his criminal son.

I don't think that she deserves lashes for her act, but I do have to say I am increasingly tired of these 'save the world do-gooders' wanting to help these ass-backwards 7th century zealots, when her time could have been better spent helping blind kids in the UK.

Hmmm - it's hard to not agree with you...

[Matt308]

Yeah. I don't know. They don't like the Great Satan, so why do we keep sacrificing ourselves for the ungrateful. And for the argument that it is not all Muslim and Islamists, then when are they going to start policing their own. I don't know. Just don't know.

[mkloby]

Originally Posted by Matt308

when are they going to start policing their own. I don't know. Just don't know.

That is the fundamental issue with Islamic cultures...

[Matt308]

Yes it is. Turning a blind eye to ugliness in the name of Allah.

[Civettone]

Originally Posted by Matt308

Yeah. I don't know. They don't like the Great Satan, so why do we keep sacrificing ourselves for the ungrateful. And for the argument that it is not all Muslim and Islamists, then when are they going to start policing their own. I don't know. Just don't know.

Glad you realize you don't know...

The best thing to do is just get the hell out of the Middle East all together. The West (not just the US) pretty much brought the political problems to the region so don't expect the West to be able to solve it now. That bird has long flown.

Kris

[Aggie08]

It's easiest to blame imperial Britain for everything that's wrong today. Pretty easy to blame us, too.

[Civettone]

I didn't say I'm blaming everything on the West. Plus, the West is also more than the US and UK. It means any western country or large international company which supported corrupt regimes that oppressed their people just as long as they were against the communists or would promise to deliver the precious oil. We turned a blind eye when it came to the problems of the ordinary people, and we all (UN in 1947) considered we could give away territory which wasn't ours to give in the first place.

Perhaps the US did have a bigger hand in some matters as others. Mossadegh comes to mind, eventually leading to you having problems with Iran today. And then there are covert operations in Iran but also in Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan. And the support for regimes in Algeria, Egypt, Saudi-Arabia and other countries.

But again, I didn't say it's all the fault of the US (and UK). That would be a bit simplistic. As simplistic as saying that Middle Eastern countries have brought it on themselves.

Kris

[Matt308]

You have a fairly naive view of world politics Civvie.

[Gnomey]

BBC NEWS | Africa | Shoot UK teacher, say protesters

Delightful people they are

[FLYBOYJ]

I'm buying a pig and I think I'm going to name it Mohamed.

[Lucky13]

By MOHAMED OSMAN, Associated Press Writer
17 minutes ago



KHARTOUM, Sudan - Thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and knives, rallied Friday in a central square and demanded the execution of a British teacher convicted of insulting Islam for allowing her students to name a teddy bear "Muhammad."

The protesters streamed out of mosques after Friday sermons, as pickup trucks with loudspeakers blared messages against Gillian Gibbons, the teacher who was sentenced Thursday to 15 days in prison and deportation. She avoided the more serious punishment of 40 lashes.

They massed in central Martyrs Square outside the presidential palace, where hundreds of riot police were deployed. They did not try to stop the rally, which lasted about an hour.

"Shame, shame on the U.K.," protesters chanted.

They called for Gibbons' execution, saying, "No tolerance: Execution," and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad."

The women's prison where Gibbons is being held is far from the square.

Several hundred protesters, not openly carrying weapons, marched about a mile away to Unity High School, where Gibbons worked. They chanted slogans outside the school, which is closed and under heavy security, then marched toward the nearby British Embassy. They were stopped by security forces two blocks away from the embassy.

The protest arose despite vows by Sudanese security officials the day before, during Gibbons' trial, that threatened demonstrations after Friday prayers would not take place. Some of the protesters carried green banners with the name of the Society for Support of the Prophet Muhammad, a previously unknown group.

Many protesters carried clubs, knives and axes — but not automatic weapons, which some have brandished at past government-condoned demonstrations. That suggested Friday's rally was not organized by the government.

A Muslim cleric at Khartoum's main Martyrs Mosque denounced Gibbons during one sermon, saying she intentionally insulted Islam. He did not call for protests, however.

"Imprisoning this lady does not satisfy the thirst of Muslims in Sudan. But we welcome imprisonment and expulsion," the cleric, Abdul-Jalil Nazeer al-Karouri, a well-known hard-liner, told worshippers.

"This an arrogant woman who came to our country, cashing her salary in dollars, teaching our children hatred of our Prophet Muhammad," he said.

Britain, meanwhile, pursued diplomatic moves to free Gibbons. Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke with a member of her family to convey his regret, his spokeswoman said.

"He set out his concern and the fact that we were doing all we could to secure her release," spokeswoman Emily Hands told reporters.

Most Britons expressed shock at the verdict by a court in Khartoum, alongside hope it would not raise tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims in Britain.

"One of the good things is the U.K. Muslims who've condemned the charge as completely out of proportion," said Paul Wishart, 37, a student in London.

"In the past, people have been a bit upset when different atrocities have happened and there hasn't been much voice in the U.K. Islamic population, whereas with this, they've quickly condemned it."

Muhammad Abdul Bari, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, accused the Sudanese authorities of "gross overreaction."

"This case should have required only simple common sense to resolve. It is unfortunate that the Sudanese authorities were found wanting in this most basic of qualities," he said.

The Muslim Public Affairs Committee, a political advocacy group, said the prosecution was "abominable and defies common sense."

The Federation of Student Islamic Societies, which represents 90,000 Muslim students in Britain and Ireland, called on Sudan's government to free Gibbons, saying she had not meant to cause offense.

"We are deeply concerned that the verdict to jail a schoolteacher due to what's likely to be an innocent mistake is gravely disproportionate," said the group's president, Ali Alhadithi.

The Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim youth organization, said Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir should pardon the teacher.

"The Ramadhan Foundation is disappointed and horrified by the conviction of Gillian Gibbons in Sudan," said spokesman Mohammed Shafiq.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the world's 77 million Anglicans, said Gibbons' prosecution and conviction was "an absurdly disproportionate response to what is at worst a cultural faux pas."

Foreign Secretary David Miliband summoned the Sudanese ambassador late Thursday to express Britain's disappointment with the verdict. The Foreign Office said Britain would continue diplomatic efforts to achieve "a swift resolution" to the crisis.

Gibbons was arrested Sunday after another staff member at the school complained that she had allowed her 7-year-old students to name a teddy bear Muhammad. Giving the name of the Muslim prophet to an animal or a toy could be considered insulting.

The case put Sudan's government in an embarrassing position — facing the anger of Britain on one side and potential trouble from powerful Islamic hard-liners on the other. Many saw the 15-day sentence as an attempt to appease both sides.

In The Times, columnist Bronwen Maddox said the verdict was "something of a fudge ... designed to give a nod to British reproof but also to appease the street."

Britain's response — applying diplomatic pressure while extolling ties with Sudan and affirming respect for Islam — had produced mixed results, British commentators concluded.

In an editorial, The Daily Telegraph said Miliband "has tiptoed around the case, avoiding a threat to cut aid and asserting that respect for Islam runs deep in Britain. Given that much of the government's financial support goes to the wretched refugees in Darfur and neighboring Chad, Mr. Miliband's caution is understandable."

Now, however, the newspaper said, Britain should recall its ambassador in Khartoum and impose sanctions on the Sudanese regime.

[Lucky13]

Well, an idea....if naming someone OR something after Muhammed or Muhammad is insulting and should be punished by death, what about all the people down there named after him already then?? Once again I'm willing to offer my services.....

[Jank]

I'm reminded of Ann Coulter' solution -

"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."