Thousands Demand Death for 'Teddy Bear' Teacher

It was like something out of a medieval nightmare, the circumstances so bizarre and ridiculous to our western eyes that one begins to wonder if places like Khartoum are existing in the same century as the rest of us.

The British school teacher who innocently asked her students to name a teddy bear as part of a class project and found herself faced with a prospective punishment of 40 lashes because the kids chose the name of Mohammed, escaped with a sentence of just 15 days in jail and deportation.

But that's not good enough for the peaceful, compassionate inhabitants of the Sudan who want the teacher to suffer the ultimate penalty for teddy bear abuse:

Thousands of Islamic fanatics wielding clubs and knives are marching through the streets of Khartoum demanding the execution of teddy bear teacher Gillian Gibbons. As the mother-of-two started a 15-day prison term, protestors left mosques across the Sudanese capital to denounce the "lenient verdict" and call for the death penalty. The mob descended on Martyrs Square, which is in front of the presidential palace, many arriving in pick-up trucks with loudspeakers blaring messages condemning Miss Gibbons. Hundreds of riot police had been deployed but they made no attempt to disrupt the rally. "Shame, shame on the U.K.," protesters chanted," as they called for Gibbons' execution, saying, "No tolerance: Execution," and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad." A well known hardline cleric Abdul-Jalil Nazeer al-Karouri, whipped the crowd into a frenzy. "This is an arrogant woman who came to her country, cashing her salary in dollars, teaching our children hatred of the prophet Mohammed," he said. "Imprisoning this lady does not satisfy the thirst of Muslims in Sudan."

I suppose the politically correct analysis would be that the people are really upset with Great Britain, their former colonial masters, and that all of this knife wielding and bloodcurdling chants to execute the stupid westerner are really all about a post-colonial assertiveness that the Sudanese are more than deserving of expressing.

Far be it for me to allow reality to intrude on such a self-loathing formulation, but does anyone anywhere in the west think that these blokes may be going a bit too far in their condemnation? I would have said the same thing about 15 days in jail for mis-naming a Teddy Bear but what do I know? I'm just a stupid, white, oppressing western male.

I have lost all my "understanding" for demonstrations like this. Whether it's for a poor choice of names for a teddy bear or someone's idea of a funny caricature of Mohammed, I frankly don't care. These people are in the wrong, we are in the right, and anyone who thinks differently is insane.

Hat Tip: Ethel Fenig