5 Dec, 2007
Teddy bear teacher leaves Sudan after being pardoned
KHARTOUM, Sudan -- A British teacher jailed for insulting Islam after allowing her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad flew home Monday following a pardon by the president of Sudan, a British Embassy spokesman said.
Gibbons, 54, was sentenced Thursday to 15 days in prison and deportation for insulting Islam because she allowed her students to name a class teddy bear Muhammad, seen as a reference to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Her time in jail since her arrest Nov. 25 counted toward the sentence.
The teacher’s conviction under Sudan’s Islamic Sharia law shocked Britons and many Muslims worldwide. It also inflamed passions among many Sudanese, some of whom called for her execution.
Gibbons escaped harsher punishment that could have included up to 40 lashes, six months in prison and a fine.
Earlier Monday, President Omar al-Bashir pardoned Gibbons after two British Muslim politicians from the House of Lords met with him to plead for her release.
Ghazi Saladdin, a senior presidential adviser, said al-Bashir insisted that Gibbons had a “fair trial,” but he agreed to pardon her because of the efforts by the British Muslim delegation.
During her trial, the weeping teacher said she had intended no harm. Her students, overwhelmingly Muslim, chose the name for the bear, and Muhammad is one of the most common names for men in the Arab world. Muslim scholars generally agree that intent is a key factor in determining if someone has violated Islamic rules against insulting the prophet.
photo & story courtesy nydailynews.com, 12/3/07
Blind leading the blind
Matthew 15:8-14 (NLT)
8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
10 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear.
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”
13 Jesus replied,
What does today's God's Story scripture teach us about the difference between religion and God's Truth?
Let's look at the notes in Tyndale's LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE:
15:13,14 Jesus told his disciples to leave the Pharisees alone because the Pharisees were blind to God's truth. Anyone who listened to their teaching would risk spiritual blindness as well. Not all religious leaders clearly see God's truth. Make sure that those you listen to and learn from are those with good spiritual eyesight - they teach and follow the principles of Scripture.
Jesus is all about a personal relationship with the one and only true, living God. Only Jesus lived a sinless life and died and rose again to pay for our sins so that we might have life now and in eternity with God.
The Jewish religious leaders of Jesus' day were blind to this Truth.
Obviously, the Muslim religious leaders who wanted to kill the "teddy bear" teacher are blind to the Truth.
The truth is....even many religious leaders today who call themselves Christians are blind to the Truth. Can you see through their false ideas of religion?
Who are you looking to for spiritual guidance? Make sure that their insight comes from the Truth of God's Holy Scripture and not some religion or human political correctness.
- Thank God for His Holy Word. Praise Him for using His Holy Spirit to give His Truth to His chosen writers of the Bible, exactly the way He intended. Thank Him that you can trust His Scriptures completely. Ask His Spirit to help you study His Word faithfully and obediently, so that you can tell if the spiritual leaders in your life are teaching God's Truth.
- Pray every day for God's Spirit to empower you to keep studying and applying God's Word.
- For the rest of this week, whenever you are in total darkness, let it remind you to pray every day to clearly see the truth of God's Word.
- When you listen to a pastor, teacher or youth leader, listen to see if they believe that the Bible is totally true and should be obeyed completely. Listen to see if they believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven. If they don't, LOOK OUT!
- If you are in the situation above, due to family or other circumstances, make sure you get involved in at least one opportunity every week where you are being taught by someone who believes in the authority of God's Word and that Christ is the only way to Heaven.
How can we connect today's story and God's Story scripture and our story to others?
- Pray for the millions of Muslim people around the world who are blinded to the Truth of Christ. Pray that they come in contact with someone who can clearly communicate God's Story to them.
- Pray that God will use the almost unbelievable story about the "teddy bear" teacher to cause lots of conversations that lead to a desire for spiritually blind people to know the Truth of Christ rather some false religion.
- Use today's story about the Muslims wanting to punish and/or execute the "teddy bear" teacher as a conversation starter with family and friends who need Jesus. Ask them how they think people can actually think this way and believe that this somehow represents spiritual truth? Let Jesus give you the courage and insight to keep asking questions, listen, and know how to best share your story of your life in Christ.
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