Concerning the English primary school teacher in Sudan accused of insulting Islam by naming a class teddy bear Mohamed, as reported by today's Times:
As the demonstration on the campus [of Khartoum University] wound down, a group of young men huddled over a sheet of paper drafting an angry statement on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood. Elsheikh El Nour, a veterinary scientist, summed up their position. “If she made an innocent mistake and did not mean Muhammad the Prophet there is no problem,” he said, sipping sweet tea. “But if she meant Muhammad the Prophet, this is a big problem for Muslims. She must die.”Not to mention this penetrating insight from the rector of the university:
Professor Eltyeb Hag Ateya, the director of the Khartoum University Peace Research Institute, said that the notion of naming a bear was alien to most Sudanese. “People are angry because the bear does not exist in Sudanese folklore,” he said. “It is not seen as a nice thing that children carry around. If you call someone a bear they will be angry, just as if you have called someone a camel in England.”Thank goodness these people have stepped forward to explain it all. Now they can get on with the important business of convicting, lashing and imprisoning…
