In Sudan a woman was arrested because her student named a teddy bear Muhammad. Is Muhammad equal to Allah?

Question

The Muslims' deity is Allah, but Muhammad appears to get just as much respect. It is called heresy to name a teddy bear Muhammad, yet there are thousands of Muslim men named Muhammad or some variation thereof. How important is Muhammad to Islam and is it really heresy to name a teddy bear after him?

An interesting point is brought up here. Would it be heresy to name a teddy bear Jesus?

By the same token, wasn't it the Muslim child who named the teddy bear Muhammad and not the teacher? Would not the child by the real heretic, since the child should know better?

Answer 1

Happily happy says:
"unlike in west we consider human as superior to animal."
I didn't know that.... why did my dog always sleep outside my home in Mexico then?

"Christians either worship or insult great personality, they don't know what respect is."
You need to get your facts straight, Mr. Happy.

This is the first time I read she broke the law. If she broke the law then she should be punished accordingly. She was sentenced to prison and deportation. I wonder if the law says she is to be executed for allowing others to commit the offense. I also wonder what the reaction would have been if the professor was a man instead of a woman.

[edit]
I agree with Fifi... a lot of ignorance. She gives a clear example: "Christians themselves would make fun of Jesus and make Jesus vibrators and things like that."
Please!

Answer 2

The debate on that, and the divergence of Islamic opinion, is well covered on the BBC page below.

For example:


From my perspective it's bizarre.
What they'd do to me, an atheist who would wish all religion to disappear from the planet, I've no idea. Or a good one.

Answer 3

can i just say, AS A MUSLIM, that i find it in no way insulting and i think that this whole thing has been blown completely out of proprtion and it is over soething so trivial and stupid that it is rubbish...it's not as if it was a dog....that would be insulting, but they are only kids, it;'s a stupid tedddy bear and it means nothing, should u stop naming ur son muhammad? no...the east is giving a bad name to islam and it is not right that she should be punished, i'm sure that there are more contreversial and interestin thingz goin on in the worl dthan this....did the jews get offended in meet the fockers over the fact that the dog was called moses/\'??? is israel at their doorstep threating them. who cares, it's a bloody teddy bear

Answer 4

In Fact Jesus is not the actual name of the one God caused to be concieved in Mary(not her actual name either). The name Jesus is a translation equivilent... but not the actual name... Muhammid is the actual name of the one who made up the koran... though the spelling of moohameed is different as the actual arabic can not be translated ... so Moohameed is just as good an equivelent of what I hear when I hear a muslim saying it in arabic...
islamic law is islamic law... that is why I will never again visit a country where it is inforced... I do not want to get in trouble for mispronouncing some holy name... just because my accent is not compatable with arabic.

Answer 5

there is alot of ignorance on the internet...tsk tsk...anyways, Mohammad is an apostle of God, and God is the Creator of all. We place great respect in all of God's apostles, and morality and respect for elders/apostles is something we take very seriously. We do not want to become a 'watered down' faith with loose morals (Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, and that is only because we have stuck by our faith and we have refused to be ridiculed, because respect is very real, and God's messengers and apostles deserve that strong respect). So no, we do not like being poked fun at, and it's alot worse when the one who's poking fun is not even a Muslim to begin with, and is of an entirely different culture and lifestyle attitude. We actually cannot grasp the fact as to why Christians themselves would make fun of Jesus and make Jesus vibrators and things like that. Jesus is also a respected apostle of God for the Muslims and we are not allowed to recreate their images in the form of drawings and etc, as that would elicit ridicule, racial hatred and etc (like how Jesus is of different races depending on which church he's drawn at).
However I believe the incident in Sudan has been totally blown out of proportion, I empathize with the lady and I'm sure it must be very hard for her. I just hope her country's government are actually doing something to get her back home as soon as possible.

EDIT: Dear Papachaco (sorry I forgot the spelling) , you're being sarcastic...but honestly if a Christian person were to work in a factory making Jesus vibrators, who would care? I don't mean to generalise but I'm just saying it's not a big deal deal to them anymore, maybe unless you live in the Vatican where Christian ideals are respected.

Answer 6

Naming a person after the prophet is considered respectful, whereas naming an object or an animal is not. It is that simple.

The response to her mistake - not reinforcing the law - has been WAY out of line with the crime, but in light of the threat to her safety, she should be immediately deported under heavy protection, and provided a lifetime of personal security, paid for by Sudan.

Answer 7

Hello,

There is a lot of IGNORANCE of the REAL practice of Islam all over the world and unfortunately in so called Muslim countries!

As a person who has studied this religion, this is so STRANGE! Is this real? Im thinking this is just a media jig meant to DISRUPT people of ALL FAITHS in ALL COUNTRIES! I am offended of course You Are if you know what makes sense ON BOTH SIDES OF THE STORY!

FOLKS don't let the media grab you and your heartstrings on this one- this is plain Ignorance if its true and plain evil if its not!

ISLAM has NOTHING to DO with this. If this really happened and this good teacher is being threatened- this is by IGNORANT PEOPLE who know nothing about ISLAM.

Harsh countries with harsh environments often produce harsh individuals regardless of their FAITH!




~P-E-A-C-E~

Answer 8

D wrote "ISLAM has NOTHING to DO with this. If this really happened and this good teacher is being threatened- this is by IGNORANT PEOPLE who know nothing about ISLAM."

SO you're saying that these angry rioters are maybe christian? They know nothing from the Quran? Nothing in the Quran that they possibly have read teaches them to be forgiving and tolerant? What a joke.

Answer 9

According to a Hadith(bukhari which is the most authetic Hadiths) Muhammad(PBUH*) forbade the use of graven images of living things(animals and humans) because only ALLAH(Subhanna wa ta'ala) has the power to create something. Kids are named after Muhammad(PBUH*) or one of the other prophets(PBUT*) because it is a sign of respect and is an honor to be named after one of the prophets(PBUT*). It might promote idolatry if you named an inanimate object after one of the prophets(PBUT*). No Muhammad(PBUH*) is not equal to ALLAH(Subhanna wa ta'ala) but since he is the last and final prophet in Islam that ALLAH(Subhanna wa ta'ala) sent to mankind he deserves respect from everyone even non Muslims.

Answer 10

Was there ever a mohammed? Could it be the frustration muslims are experiencing today is because the whole thing is simply fiction and starting to prove itself so? I can understand their anger. They are dying and suffering for nothing. What a waste. Has anyone seen my teddy bear? Hey , mohammed, where are you, you little devil?