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Hopes rise for 'teddy' teacher
03/12/2007 00:31 - (SA)
Khartoum - Two leading British Muslim
politicians will meet Sudan's president on Monday, raising hopes
that he will grant the early release of a British teacher jailed
for allowing her class to name a teddy bear Muhammad.
Gillian Gibbons was sentenced on Thursday to 15 days in jail
for insulting Islam to be followed by deportation.
"The President will meet the British parliamentarians
tomorrow at 10:30 (07:30 GMT) in the Republican Palace," a
source at President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's palace said.
But the influential Council of Islamic Scholars in Sudan
warned the government not to free Gillian Gibbons earlier,
saying it would "wound the sensibilities of Muslims in Sudan".
Gibbons was sentenced after her class of seven-year-olds
named a teddy bear Muhammad, the same name as Islam's Prophet as
part of a school project. Religious sensitivities
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, who has travelled to Khartoum with
Lord Ahmed, a fellow member of the House of Lords to seek
Gibbons' freedom, said they were optimistic the 54-year-old
mother of two could be released soon.
"I'm still hopeful ... I understand the cultural and
religious sensitivities around Islam, but as a British woman I
have huge concerns for Gillian," Warsi told Reuters.
"This is a huge issue and we must remain optimistic and
hopeful that we can resolve it as early as possible."
Britain's ambassador to Sudan, Rosalind Marsden, said
Monday's meeting with the president was grounds for optimism.
"We very much hope that following the meeting with the
president tomorrow morning the decision will be taken to release
Mrs Gibbons as soon as possible," she told reporters.
Islamic scholars said the government would face problems if
it reduced Gibbons' sentence, which they said was too light.
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