Naming teddy 'Mohammed' lands teacher in jail

LONDON: A British teacher in Sudan was awarded 15 days imprisonment after being found guilty of inciting religious hatred by allowing her pupils to name a teddy 'Mohammed'.
 
The teacher , Ms Gillian Gibbons said on Thursday she was stunned by the sentence imposed for insulting Islam after which she will  be deported from Sudan.
  
The 54-year-old teacher was arrested on Tuesday in Khartoum, Sudan after parents at a private English school where she had taught for less than a term, complained that by allowing primary school children to name a cuddly toy Mohammed, she had insulted Muslims, the Daily Mail reported on Friday.
  
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Ms Gibbons had made an "innocent mistake" in allowing pupils to choose the name Mohammed - a popular boys' name in Muslim countries but also the name of Islam's prophet.
  
Sudan's ambassador to London was summoned to the Foreign Office for an explanation and a spokesman for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said further necessary steps would be considered in the light of the talks.
  
Prosecutors asked the judge to bring five witnesses to testify, including at least one colleague from the Christian-run English  private school.
  
The defence would call four witnesses - including Muslim parents at the school - to testify in Ms Gibbons's favour.
  
The United States, Britain's closest ally and a country which has imposed economic sanctions on the Sudanese government, also voiced concern over the incident.