The Western mind may never understand the Middle Eastern Muslim way of thinking.
Nor may Middle Eastern Muslims ever understand the way people in Western countries think.
The futility of bridging the gap is evident in a horrific case in Sudan, where a British school teacher asked the 7-year-old children in her class to name a teddy bear. One would think that would be a pretty benign and endearing exercise. But not to the Sudanese. Not when the kids vote to name the teddy bear Mohammed.
Teacher Gillian Gibbons was convicted in a closed door court hearing of inciting religious hatred. She was sentenced to 15 days behind bars, and faces deportation after she serves her term.
She was spared being lashed for her "offense."
I'm pretty good at understanding and appreciating cultural differences in our world. But this is something I will never get. And those who hail the verdict probably will never understand that in me.
All this is pretty worrisome in a world where people who feel affronted religiously by another's pronouncements or actions sometimes resort to violence.
2 comments:
its getting bad that you cant even call a teddy mohammed but you are sent to jail some people are taken religion to far
Well, Islam certainly can't add tolerance to its list of supposed 'attributes'.
I often hear Islam described as a 'religion of peace' - I wonder just how peaceful Gill Gibbons will find it - probably as peaceful as Margaret Hassan and Ken Bigley found it. Most certainly for Gill the old saying ' no good deed goes unpunished' holds true. Perhaps those who feel empathy for those in need and are prepared to put that into practice by going to help in either voluntary or paid capacities will think twice.
As I write this reply to your blog Gary the TV news tells me that now there are mass demonstrations in Khartoum calling, not for the release of this woman. but for her execution! When are we going to see some outrage from us in the West against the actions of this bloody and barbaric religion? When in the future someone says how wonderful Shariah law is, and how 'just' then please use this case as an example of shariah justice.
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