In the West giving human characteristics to animals is widespread; in English they have a name for it – Anthropomorphism. It manifests itself in the almost unnatural closeness a lot of Westerners have for their pets, it fuels the sympathy many in the West feel for Animal rights activists, provides the basis for a lot of vegetarianism, and it has just landed a 54-year old English teacher a 15 day jail sentence or so it seems.
Gillian Gibbons’s tribulations started when she organised a class project for her pupils at Khartoum’s high brow Unity High School. From a Western perspective it seemed innocent enough, give a teddy bear a name, each pupils takes turns to take it home and keep a journal about the bear.
Nothing unusual so far, at least not until Gibbons decided to come up with a name for the teddy and asked the class to choose one. The class opted for Mohammed and in doing so sealed the fate of their teacher. The story of the teddy bear named Mohammed made its way via complaints from Muslim staff at the school all the way to the hallowed halls of Sudan’s Ministry of Education. Here the complaints took on a far more serious demeanour as they transformed from an issue between colleagues into a criminal slight against Islam.
Once immersed in Sudan's bureaucracy the situation escalated rapidly, culminating in Gibbons being charged under article 125 of the criminal law (insult of faith and religion), quickly tried, convicted and sentenced to 15 days in jail, all within a week.
Why is Sudan so offended by the teddy named Mohammed, well no specific explanation seems to be forthcoming but many have pointed to the reverence Muslims hold the name of Prophet Mohammed and while it is okay to name male children after the Prophet, naming inanimate objects is a strict no-no. Others have pointed to that fact that outside the well-travelled Sudanese elite the concept of a teddy
bear is unknown in Sudan and the situation could easily be misunderstood to be Gibbons encouraged the children to name an animal after the prophet.
Add to that lingering resentment in the Arab north of Sudan, where Khartoum is, over Western criticism on the Darfur issue and the conflict in Southern Sudan, and underlying resentment in some quarters to the elite, western oriented Unity High School, the case contained a potent mix of religion and politics.
Was Gibbons an agent of the imperialistic West intent on destroying the religious fabric of Sudan? Definitely not. Was she a fairly naïve Westerner freshly arrived in Sudan a not fully acclimatized to the cultural and religious nuances of her host country? Probably. Did she deserve a 15 day sentence in jail for a law for a ‘crime’ she and most Sudanese were not aware existed, probably not. One would expect a certain degree of leniency, and would have been a opportunity to show the compassionate side of Islam.
The lesson from all this is ‘Traveller beware” the world can be a very different place from the leafy suburbs of Liverpool, England, and cultural and religious insensitivity even unintentionally can come with a heavy price.