By Andrew L. Jaffee

Sudan’s Muslim “clerics” are stoking the fires of anti-Western hatred — just as Danish imams threw gasoline on the cartoon “controversy:”

A Sudanese court convicted a British teacher Thursday of insulting Islam for letting her students name a teddy bear Muhammad and sentenced her to 15 days in prison, avoiding a heavier punishment of 40 lashes. The teacher wept in court, insisting she never meant to offend. …

The defense said the case was sparked by a school secretary with a grudge. But it escalated as Muslim clerics sought to drum up public outrage against what it called a Western plot to insult Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and demanding Gibbons be punished. …

Of course, most of the Muslim parents have taken absolutely no responsibility for anything. The British teacher in question asked her Muslim pupils to choose a name for the teddy bear:

… Ms Gibbons suggested the name “Faris”, which is Arabic for “horseman”. In spite of her recommendation, 20 out of the total 23 class members voted in favour of calling the mascot Mohamed — the name of one of the most popular boys in the class. …

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Related: Arab/Muslim World, Islam, Sudan Monitor

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