The Sudanese Teddy Bear Saga

The day Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir decided to overturn a court ruling convicting Gillian Gibbons for insulting the Prophet Mohammad, he heralded a rare victory for progressive, moderate Islam.

The fact that this momentous decision was made by none other than Omar al-Bashir is something worth mentioning. President al-Bashir has made no secret of his hard line religious views and he has most famously been at loggerheads with the world community over the tragedy in Darfur.

To actually pardon Ms. Gibbons despite pressure from Sudanese religious fanatics is a courageous move by al-Bashir and one for which he should be applauded.
This development should be seen as a rare victory for the real Islam, an Islam that decried 9/11 and will never condone violence or ignorance in any shape or form.

The efforts of Lord Nazir Ahmed and Baroness Sayeeda Warsi should be lauded. These two individuals, (one an immigrant from Pakistan who rose from being a grocery store owner to a Peer of the realm, the other a daughter of Pakistani immigrants who at 37 is the youngest Peer in the House of Lords) personify the progressive spirit of moderate Islam. Though Lord Nazir has made a few political faux pas in the past, his efforts on Ms. Gibbons' behalf should not be diluted in any way.

It would be remiss not to comment on the entire episode as a whole. I am a practicing Pakistani-American Muslim and revere the Prophet Mohammad as much as the next Sudanese hard liner. Why was I not out on the streets baying for Ms. Gibbons' blood? The answer is common sense, and a working knowledge of Islam.

One of the tenets of Islam is that every action is judged by the intention behind it. Much like the famous statement by Edward Coke which has become the basis of Common Law in most western societies, "actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea" or "an act does not make a person guilty unless their mind is also guilty".

The Sudanese court which convicted Ms. Gibbons could not prove that she had intentionally insulted the Prophet Mohammad, rather the fact remains that the name "Mohammad" for the Teddy Bear was chosen by the school children themselves from a list four names.

The only thing Ms. Gibbons can possibly be guilty of is being ignorant of the sentimentalities of Sudanese hard-line Muslims. This is no crime in itself, however it does reflect bad judgement on her part for which she has to take some responsibility. To better illustrate my point, if I was a teacher in a devoutly Catholic country, I would not name the class mascot "Jesus".

Of course, hindsight is 20/20 but an experienced teacher like Ms. Gibbons should have known that in a country like Sudan, where illiteracy is a rampant phenomena, the chances of highly sensitive religious sentiments are quite great.

To look at it from a Sudanese point of view, emotions would obviously be highly charged if the events of the last few years are taken into context. To the common Muslim in most under-developed countries, their religion is under attack from the 'civilized' west given the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the senseless caricatures portraying the Prophet Mohammad. Ms. Gibbons' honest lack of judgement can quite easily be construed as a deliberate attempt to insult what every Muslim holds scared, given the climate of uncertainty that has prevailed over the last few years.

However, the silver lining in this entire, regrettable episode was that ultimately, moderation and a progressive mentality eventually won the day, and hopefully a precedent has been established for cooler heads to prevail.