Teacher who named a Teddy Bear Muhammad "Deserves Execution"

This story from the Sudan:

Thousands of protesters, many brandishing clubs and swords, took to the streets of Sudan’s capital Friday, demanding the execution of a British teacher who let her students name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Gillian Gibbons, 54, was found guilty Thursday of insulting Islam and sentenced to 15 days in jail. She was spared the more serious punishment of 40 lashes.

That angered many in Khartoum, who rallied in Martyrs Square outside the presidential palace. Protesters waved sticks, knives, axes and swords.

“Kill her, kill her by firing squad!” they chanted. “No tolerance, execution!”

has me completely amazed. I am one of those people who believes that people around the world are basically the same even though we have different beliefs, experiences, etc. This story challenges that belief. Is Muhammad so easily insulted? I know people who are muslim and they have never given me that impression.

I ask myself. If Gillian Gibbons had meant to insult islam. If she really was trying to instill in her students a hatred for Muhammad, is this what she would have done?

School officials have said the students suggested names for the bear and then voted. Their choice was Muhammad – the most popular boy’s name in the Muslim world.

But while naming a child after Islam’s revered prophet is acceptable, many consider using it for an animal or toy to be insulting.

In Britan — where Muhammad is now the second most popular name for baby boys — the reaction had been shock and disbelief, from both non-Muslims and Muslims.

Muhammad Abdul Bari, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said Sudanese authorities had “grossly overreacted.”

“Gillian should never have been arrested, let alone charged and convicted of committing a crime,” he said.

Are there no such voices of moderation in Sudan? Is this what the future will bring? Draw a cartoon of Muhammad, then you should die. Name a teddy bear after Muhammad, then you should die. I don’t think I want to ask what the penalty is for bloggers.

I wonder what her students think. Which is a bigger insult to islam, naming a teddy bear Muhammad or calling for the death of an innocent teacher?