Published: December 01, 2007 11:49 pm         

A bear by any other name

If you ever doubt the deep divisions between western culture and some nations in the rest of the world, consider a recent example.

Gillian Gibbons, a British teacher in the African nation of Sudan, was convicted last week of insulting Islam.

She was sentenced to 15 days in prison, avoiding the harsher punishment of 40 lashes.

After her conviction, thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and knives, rallied to demand her execution by firing squad.

Her crime? She allowed her students to name a teddy bear “Muhammad.”

That’s right, a teddy bear.

Gibbons asked her 7-year-old students to name the bear as part of a lesson on animal habits.

The students chose the name Muhammad because it is such a common name in Sudan.

The name also happens to be that of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. Therein lies the problem.

Sudanese Muslims apparently were offended by the fact this toy bear was given the same name as their beloved prophet.

Gibbons was arrested when a fellow staff member at her school complained about the children naming the bear Muhammed.

So at that point, why didn’t the principal, or headmaster, head cheese or whoever, simply go to Gibbons and tell her naming the toy Muhammed was unacceptable and offensive? She then could have addressed the problem with the children, and they could have renamed the bear Bill, George or Sue, anything but Muhammed.

But no, the Sudanese government had to arrest Gibbons, try and sentence her — and then wonder why there was such an outcry both within their country and from other nations.

Of course, perhaps Sudan’s military government was simply trying to divert attention from the Darfur region of that country, where an estimated 200,000 people have been killed in four years of civil war, which also has displaced 2.2 million people.

Heck, what’s 200,000 deaths and 2.2 million refugees when compared to a toy bear with what some may consider an offensive name.

I guess we in America must have our priorities screwed up. We worry more about the sanctity of human life than the names of toys.

We must. After all, a California-based company is selling talking Jesus dolls.

The foot-tall doll is dressed in a hand-sewn robe and sandals. When you press a button on his back, he says “I am Jesus. I am the son of God,” as well as five Bible verses.

If there have been riots over this toy I haven’t heard about them. The doll, in fact, is quite popular. Jesus is available at 425 Wal-Mart stores as well as at Target.com. Wal-Mart expects Jesus to sell out before Christmas, according to a Chicago Tribune article.

And Jesus isn’t the only doll in the Messengers of Faith line distributed by One2Believe, a division of Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co. There’s a Virgin Mary doll, and Noah, Jonah, Samson and David.

Some people may cringe at the idea of Christ as an action figure, and a talking one at that. The concept may even make some people angry. But the people who produce and sell the doll will not be arrested.

This is a free, open country, after all, as is Great Britain, Gibbons’ home nation.

Perhaps the leaders of Sudan should consider the words of a renowned former American president, Theodore Roosevelt, who said, “I think there is only one quality worse than hardness of heart and that is softness of head.”

That was Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt. Great name for a bear, don’t you think?



Mullin is senior writer of the News & Eagle.