Rallies Call for Execution in Teddy Bear Case
CBN News
November 30, 2007
CBNNews.com - Death by firing squad. That was the penalty some Sudanese Muslims thought a teacher should have received after naming a teddy bear "Muhammad."
Click the play button for Newswatch video.
They considered the naming to be an affront to their religion, leading to a series of rallies Friday in a central square in Khartoum
Thousands of protestors streamed out of mosques after sermons, and hopped into pickup trucks equipped with loudspeakers, blaring messages against Gillian Gibbons.
The teacher was sentenced Thursday to 15 days in prison and deportation. She had avoided a more serious punishment of 40 lashes.
The group chanted outside Gibbons' school, which is closed and under heavy security, and then marched towards the British embassy, where they were stop two blocks away.
"Shame, shame on the U.K.," protesters chanted.
They called for Gibbons' execution, saying, "No tolerance: Execution," and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad."
A Muslim cleric denounced Gibbons during one sermon, saying she intentionally insulted Islam.
"Imprisoning this lady does not satisfy the thirst of Muslims in Sudan. But we welcome imprisonment and expulsion," the cleric, Abdul-Jalil Nazeer al-Karouri, told worshippers.
The protest came in spite of vows by Sudanese security officials -- who said that demonstrations would not take place.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband summoned the Sudanese ambassador late Thursday to express Britain's disappointment with the verdict. The Foreign Office said Britain would continue diplomatic efforts to achieve "a swift resolution" to the crisis.
Gibbons was arrested Sunday after a staff member complained that she had allowed her 7-year-old students to name a teddy bear Muhammad.
Many saw the 15-day sentence as an attempt to appease both sides.
Sources: CBN News, Associated Press
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