What more do you need to know?

The teacher who let her students name a Teddy Bear Muhammad was convicted and sentenced to 15 days in jail and will be deported. At least she doesn’t have to endure the whipping that was on the list of possible punishments. I thought this was pretty extreme but figured it would be a good lesson for those that think we need to “reach common ground” or some such thing with the Muslim extremists. I couldn’t have imagined what a lesson this would actually be.

But it turns out the sentence Gillian Gibbons received is considered much too light for the locals. They are demanding her execution:

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!”

Here is a picture of the evil heretic. I hope she gets out alive.

To be fair, there are some Muslims who are responding appropriately:

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.

But the Sudanese behavior invokes an opposing extreme response in me and others.

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One thought on “What more do you need to know?

  1. Don’t know how Sudan compares to Saudi Arabia, but I worked with a guy about 25 years ago that had an interesting experience with Saudi jails. He was transferred from Turkey to Saudi and got some going away gifts that he just stuffed in his suitcase as he left from work to the airport. When he got to Saudi customs, they asked what was in the boxes. he said “I don’t know, I just got them. Go ahead and open them up.”

    Of course, one contained a fifth of something. They took him straight to jail. For six months. When he got there, they explained how it works:

    1. When you make your phone call, make sure you call someone that will make proper arrangements to care for you while you’re a guest of the Saudis for the next six months.

    2. Since the prison won’t feed you, make sure someone brings you meals.

    3. You might also want to have them bring you a blanket because it gets cold at night.

    4. Oh, and if you’re not the biggest baddest guy in your cell (about 10 to a cell) you should have them bring extra food and/or blankets so that you can share voluntarily rather than because someone made you an offer you couldn’t refuse.

    5. You won’t be leaving your cell until your time is up unless you appear to have a medical condition what could be life threatening, in which case, they’ll take you to the prison doctor and then back to the cell after you’ve been treated.

    6. They provide no forms of entertainment. You can read books (as long as they aren’t non-Muslim religious books or books with inappropriate content according to their very strict standards) if someone brings you one.

    7. After your six months are up, they’ll let you out of the prison.

    Six months was the standard punishment for alcohol, pr0n, Bibles, and pork products. There was no trial, just the customs folks telling the prison people what you did. He got two meals a day from a coworker that dropped them off on the way to and from work.

    Not exactly like our prisons here. Most people try really hard to keep from going back. Then again, this is the country that has consecutive theft punishments of a) cut off right hand, b) cut off left hand, and c) cut off head. Now that’s a real three strikes law.

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