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Gillian Gibbons is described as "a talented and able teacher "
A British schoolteacher has been arrested in Sudan accused of insulting Islam's Prophet, after she allowed her pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad.
Colleagues of Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, said she made an "innocent mistake" by letting the six and seven-year-olds choose the name.
Ms Gibbons was arrested after several parents made complaints.
A spokesman from the British Embassy in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, said it was unclear whether she had been charged.
Embassy officials are expected to visit Ms Gibbons in custody later.
"We are in contact with the authorities here and they have visited the teacher and she is in a good condition," an embassy spokesman said.
The spokesman said the naming of the teddy happened months ago and was chosen by the children because it is a common name in the country.
"This happened in September and the parents did not have a problem with it," he said.
'Very sensitive'
The BBC's correspondent Amber Henshaw said Ms Gibbons' punishment could be up to six months in jail, 40 lashes or a fine.
The school has been closed until January for fear of reprisals.
Fellow teachers at Khartoum's Unity High School told Reuters news agency they feared for Ms Gibbons' safety after receiving reports that men had started gathering outside the police station where she was being held.
The school's director, Robert Boulos, said: "This is a very sensitive issue. We are very worried about her safety.
"This was a completely innocent mistake. Miss Gibbons would have never wanted to insult Islam."
Mr Boulos said Ms Gibbons was following a British national curriculum course designed to teach young pupils about animals and this year's topic was the bear.
Ms Gibbons, who joined the school in August, asked a seven-year-old girl to bring in her teddy bear and asked the class to pick names for it, he said.
"They came up with eight names including Abdullah, Hassan and Muhammad," Mr Boulos said, adding that she then had the children vote on a name.
Twenty out of the 23 children chose Muhammad as their favourite name.
Mr Boulos said each child was then allowed to take the bear home at weekends and told to write a diary about what they did with it.
He said the children's entries were collected in a book with a picture of the bear on the cover and a message which read, "My name is Muhammad."
Book seized
The bear itself was not marked or labelled with the name in any way, he added.
It is seen as an insult to Islam to attempt to make an image of the Prophet Muhammad.
Mr Boulos said Ms Gibbons was arrested on Sunday at her home inside the school premises after a number of parents complained to Sudan's Ministry of Education.
I know Gillian and she would never have meant it as an insult. I was just impressed that she got them to vote
Muslim colleague in Sudan
He said police had seized the book and asked to interview the girl who owned the bear.
The country's state-controlled Sudanese Media Centre reported that charges were being prepared "under article 125 of the criminal law" which covers insults against faith and religion.
No-one at the ministries of education or justice was available for comment.
Mr Boulos told the BBC he was confident she would not face a jail sentence.
"So far there is not any formal accusation, you see, so it wouldn't reach that, it will be just a fine. We are struggling with the authorities and our advocates to just release her, and then the whole case will be dismissed," he said.
One Muslim teacher at the independent school for Christian and Muslim children, who has a child in Ms Gibbons' class, said she had not found the project offensive.
"I know Gillian and she would never have meant it as an insult. I was just impressed that she got them to vote," the teacher said.
In Liverpool, a family spokeswoman said Ms Gibbons' grown children, John and Jessica - both believed to be in their 20s - were not commenting on her arrest.
"I have spoken with her children and they do not want to say anything and aggravate the situation over there," she said.
Friends and neighbours of Ms Gibbons expressed their worry for the former deputy headteacher and respected educator who moved to Sudan in July.
"Gillian is a very talented and able teacher and she was extremely popular with the pupils at this school," said Gillian Jones, Ms Gibbons former colleague at Dovecot Primary School in suburban Aigburth.
Cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad printed in several European newspapers sparked violent protests around the world in 2006.
Originally posted by Docker:
Please feel free to post in here any news stories that we may have missed by not visiting one of the most popular internet sites in the UK.
Well - if you say so Sir:
Quote:
Četvrtak, 22. novembar 2007. - Objavljeno 15:30 GMT
Vuk Jeremić u poseti Moskvi
Rusija je u četvrtak ponovo izrazila podršku Srbiji u pogledu rešavanja statusa Kosova.
Posle susreta u Moskvi sa srpskim kolegom Vukom Jeremićem, ruski ministar inostranih poslova Sergej Lavrov je upozorio Zapad da ni na koji način ne podstiče jednostrano proglašenje nezavisnosti Kosova:
"Ne smemo da imamo nikakva unapred određena rešenja ili veštačke rokove. Svi moramo da poštujemo i da se držimo i Rezolucije 1244 i principa dogovorenih unutar Kontakt grupe. Rusija i Srbija imaju jedinstven stav - ne vidimo nikakvo rešenje osim onog koje se temelji na međunarodnom pravu i predstavlja rezultat dogovora postignutog kroz pregovore."
Vuk Jeremić je, sa svoje strane, istakao da je Srbija spremna za dogovor, ali da nezavisnost Kosova ne dolazi u obzir:
"Srbija je spremna da napravi taj korak. Naravno, ne na način koji će ugroziti suverenitet i teritorijalni integritet naše zemlje. Ali, mi smo spremni da razmotrimo jednu lepezu ideja, institucionalnih rešenja koja se zasnivaju na suštinskoj autonomiji."
Poruka Vojislava Koštunice
Predsednik vlade Srbije Vojislav Koštunica poručio je u četvrtak, posredstvom nacionalne agencije Tanjug, da Srbija odbacuje sve pretnje i eventualne nagrade usmerene na to da se privoli na dobrovoljno odricanje od Kosova.
U oštro intoniranoj izjavi premijer Koštunica dodaje da se upravo sada "odlučuje da li će Srbija podleći ovom nasilju i biti prva država u Evropi, posle ponižavajućeg Minhenskog sporazuma, kojoj su Zapadne sile otele teritoriju".
Po ocenama posmatrača u Beogradu ova izjava sadrži jasne poruke Zapadu, ali i domaćoj javnosti, nagoveštavajući mogućnost ozbiljne političke krize u Srbiji u slučaju jednostranog priznavanja nezavisnosti Kosova.
And now the Shipping Forecast issued by the Met Office, on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, at 1130 on Monday 26 November 2007.
There are warnings of gales in Viking North Utsire South Utsire Forties Dogger Fisher and German Bight.
The general synopsis at 0600:
High northwest Fitzroy 1037 expected brest 1032 by 0600 tomorrow. New low expected 100 miles east of Iceland 1006 by same time. Low eastern scandinavia 990 moving slowly southeast with little change.
The area forecasts for the next 24 hours:
Viking:
Northwest 6 to gale 8 backing south 5 or 6. Very rough becoming rough. rain later. Good becoming poor.
North Utsire South Utsire Forties:
Northwest 6 to gale 8 backing south 3 or 4. Very rough becoming rough. wintry showers then rain. Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.
Dogger Fisher German Bight:
Northwest 6 to gale 8 decreasing 3 or 4, backing southwest later in Dogger. Rough, occasionally very rough at first. Showers. Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.
Humber Thames:
Northwest 5 to 7 backing southwest 3 or 4. Moderate or rough. occasional rain. Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.
Dover Wight Portland Plymouth:
North backing west 3 or 4. Slight or moderate. Occasional rain. moderate or good, becoming poor at times.
Biscay:
Northeasterly 3 or 4, becoming variable 3 or less in north. Moderate. showers. Good.
South Fitzroy:
Northeast 5 to 7. Rough. Showers. Good.
North Fitzroy Sole:
Variable 3 or 4, becoming southwesterly 5 to 7 later in west Sole. moderate or rough. Occasional drizzle. Moderate or good.
Lundy Fastnet Irish Sea:
West or northwest 3 or 4, backing southwest later. Slight or moderate. occasional rain. Moderate or good, becoming poor at times.
Shannon Rockall Malin:
Southwesterly 3 or 4 increasing 5 to 7, veering northerly 5 in northwest Rockall. Rough. Rain or drizzle. Moderate or poor.
Hebrides:
Southeasterly 5 at first in northeast, otherwise southwesterly 4 increasing 5 to 7, veering northwesterly 4 later in northwest. Rough. rain. Moderate or poor.
Bailey:
Southwest 5 or 6 veering northwest 4 or 5. Rough becoming very rough. rain then showers. Moderate or poor becoming good.
Fair Isle:
North 4 backing south or southwest 5 to 7. Rough, occasionally very rough at first. Occasional rain. Good becoming moderate or poor.
Faeroes Southeast Iceland:
Southeast veering northwest 5 to 7. Rough. Rain then showers. Moderate or poor becoming good.
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