What are your thoughts on the teacher who allowed children to name a teddy bear Mohammed?

Question

Is she wrong or right?


No racist comments please.

I personally think there was no harm done, the kids named it. And she was letting them exercise free will it could possibly be because she is British and think she did it herself as a racist act. But it's interesting to hear what you all think.

Answer 1

nothing...a name's a name...would there be a backlash if it was jesus or buddha?
muhammed may be sacred to muslims, but jesus is sacred to christians and buddha to buddhists, but that's only if you believe so i see nothing wrong with it.

Answer 2

Many males in Islamic or Arab culture have Mohammed as part of their name whether they go by it or not. It is so common that it is probably the first and most impressionable name that popped into the children's minds.

Certainly if the teddy bear was named Allah, that would be considered an insult to those who consider Allah diety. Mohammed was considered a human prophet not god. Any one with common sense could see there is no malicious intent on the teacher's part and for the Sudanese government to accuse her of that is outrageous. The Sudanese government is certainly wrong for the way they have reacted and the harsh treatment they have given. They need to show sensitivity to those visiting their country also and realize foreigners may not thoroughly understand their culture. It would have been appropriate for the school board to quietly pull the teacher aside and say , let's change this, it might provoke an unfavorable action to call the teddy bear Mohammed. A verbal apology from her should be sufficient, nothing more.

The only thing the teacher is wrong for is stepping foot into a Islamic ruled country where they hate anyone not of their religion or ethnicity and will look for any excuse to execute someone. She should have suspected that the Sudanese government could turn on her for any reason at any moment. Sudan has been violently persecuting anyone associated with christianity for decades. It is one of the most dangerous places to go.

What do you suppose would happened if a Palestinian teacher in Israel names a teddy bear Moses/Moshe and the Israeli government reacted just like the Sudanese government is right now? I am sure the entire U.N. would condemn Israel, force Israel to back off, make Israel apologize profusely and demand the release of the teacher immediately.

We should learn from this incident, not the teacher's "mistake" but observe the Sudanese government and how they act in the name of their religion. Who is really in the wrong?

Answer 3

I think she's being very open minded and fair, not teaching the kids to be racist or discriminatory.

Besides, Mohammed is a common enough middle eastern name. No harm in it. Just a name, like all others.


BTW, If they're going to punish this teacher for letting the kids name this teddy bear mohammad, are they also going to go out and punish the mother and father of every child that was named Mohammad? If it's blasphemous to name a stuffed animal that, wouldn't it also be blasphemous for parents to give their children that name? And what about all of the different spin offs from the name mohammad, like Mahmud? Should those parents be punished too, or should the children themselves be punished? After all, if it's a sin to name a teddy bear that name, shouldn't it also be a sin to give anyone or anything that name as well?

It's just a name, for goodness sake. Last I heard, the Prophet didn't tell anyone that they couldn't have the same name as he did. PLUS, the teacher didn't give the teddy bear the name "The prophet mohammad". MAYBE that would have been blasphemous, but as she didn't name the bear that and didn't even choose the name, she should be left alone. AT THE WORST they should leave off with a gentle reprimand. Anything else is just persecution.

Answer 4

If this had happened in Iran, they'd have given her the forty lashes already and probably a public stoning as well.

Fortunately for the teacher, Sudan is a desperately poor country heavily reliant on donations from the west via the Red Cross, etc. At the end of the day, they can't afford to make an enemy of the western public, as they'd be biting the hand that feeds them. Even if a sentence is passed, I doubt they'll carry it out, certainly for something as trivial as this.

At worst, she was naive. Nothing in this story was done with any intent of insulting Islam, and it does the religion no good at all. The mullahs need to get a good Public Relations person in and start spreading the word that Islam is not an evil or backwards-looking religion, because events like this don't do their cause any good at all.

Organised religion. The cause of practically every single war throughout human history. You'd have thought we'd have learned by now and ditched religion of any description. It's more trouble than its worth.

Answer 5

The point is that she never called for the teddy to be called Mohammed the children voted for it 20 out of 23. She then ask them in turn to take the bear home and write about what it done over the weekend with the child.

I believe this has damaged the Islamic religion, and as for one I admire there beliefs.

This poor lady should be excussed and released before more damage is done.

Answer 6

1. "Mohammed" is a common name with moslems all over the world - does it mean that these millions named "Mohammed" are posing as their "prophets"?
2. Why should moslem syaria law apply to people of other faiths?
3. The Sudanese children named the teddy, not the teacher
4. The teacher MUST be freed immediately
5. Political correctness is a 2-way street; moslems must also treat others who are non-moslems with respect and must not subject them to their own ancient religious laws
6. Britain Gordon Brown must act swiftly to secure release of the teacher; or else issue an ultimatum to Sudan - remember Falklands

Answer 7

Devils Advocate....
Within Islam idolatry is forbidden. Their point will be that the name of the prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) has been given to (an idol) the teddy bear. Which without question will be worshipped, albeit in a non-religious manner, by the children.
However, unlike (for example) Christians, who have a religious right to worship statues of their prophet Jesus (peace be upon him), this is not the case within Islam. However, in this case (even though it may outrage those of other faiths) it may be viewed as blasphemy.
Therefore, just as religious( or non-religious) principles are often adhered to by those outside of Islam, the religious law within that country is unfortunately being applied to the letter of that law.

Answer 8

A bit naive I would say, It did say in reports that the children named the teddy Mohammed after a friend in school who is bright and very popular, a coincidence that it is also the name of the Prophet. Thats what comes from moving from an enlightened society to one which is intolerant.....

Answer 9

I think that it's a ridiculous situation.

The kids named the bear without any sense of blasphemy.

What I think is a shame is that the majority of people believe that the Muslim religion is a peaceful one which has been marred recently by the few extremists... This is the kind of bad publicity that will make people start questioning whether it is a wider spread (I'm not saying that it is, just that the perception is there)

Answer 10

Why do people get upset about such little things? 'Mohammed' is a first name. In Latin countries 'Jesus' is frequently used as a first name. Would it be wrong for children from Spain or South America to call their teddy 'Jesus'?.
Not that long ago a friend from Armenia gave me an enormous teddy. I decided to call it Boris, because it didn't seem to be able to sit up straight.

Answer 11

Mojammed is a name and millins of people are called Mohammed, including criminals of all sorts. She gave the teddy bear a name and did not mean to refer the toy as the prophet.This is insane, this name hasn't been copyright by the prophet as far as I know.