Fatwa to Follow

While this is certainly refreshing to hear, there's no doubt such a bold statement will be followed by death threats, whining and seething.

The Conservative peer who helped negotiate the release of the primary school teacher jailed in Sudan for allowing her pupils to name a teddy bear Mohamed attacked her fellow British Muslims today for their "victim culture".

Baroness Warsi, a Conservative spokeswoman on community cohesion, also criticised Labour for its "patronage politics" and for having encouraged the "divisive concept" of multiculturalism.

Lady Warsi, 36, born to Pakistani parents in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, is the youngest member of the House of Lords. She came to public notice earlier this month when she was asked by Lord Ahmed, a Labour peer, to accompany him to Sudan to mediate the release of Gillian Gibbons, who had been jailed for insulting Islam.

The situation in Sudan had been extraordinary and "thankfully" could never happen in the UK, Lady Warsi told a race relations conference in London this morning.

"And yet it had echoes of situations we do get in Britain," she added, describing how cultural misunderstandings had exacerbated a local problem, which had then been taken up by religious and political leaders "busting for a fight".

"These three factors – local disputes, cultural misunderstandings and hardliners stirring up trouble – these are very familiar to us in Britain," she said.

It was entirely possible to respect religious doctrine while living within a democracy, Lady Warsi said. To do so successfully, it was crucial to make the distinction between religious faith and cultural practice.

"This distinction is vital because there is a growing tendency among some people to describe what are really social expectations – and often pretty dubious ones – as religious requirements.

"...British Muslims have the foremost responsibility here," she added. "As long as the Muslim community remains in a victim culture, a siege mentality, they allow others to control the debate.

"When it comes to Islam, the majority of Muslims understand the difference between culture and religion. It’s not for others to tell Muslims what is and isn’t Islam. It’s for the community, and in that I include myself, to expound the truth about our faith – not let others interpret it for us. It is for us to be the change – not let others impose it on us."

Lady Warsi, who is thought to be the first British Muslim to serve in either the Cabinet or Shadow Cabinet, pointed out that she gone to Sudan with a Labour peer and had been proud to be part of a bipartisan effort where party differences did not matter.

"But this is not to say that there are no differences between the parties when it comes to cohesion at home," she added.

While I'm not so sure most British Muslims understand the difference between culture and religion, it's at least a start for a prominent politician to speak out against the culture of victimology.

Still, she'd better make sure she has enough security. The victimology runs deep.

'Teddy Bear' Teacher Feared Prison Rape

Now that she's back in the UK, it appears Gillian Gibbons is soaking in her celebrity status.

She might want to consider fading into obscurity before long. At the rate she's going, she'll be thanking the Islamic goons for locking her up.

The teacher imprisoned in the Sudan for naming a teddy bear Mohammed has told how she feared being raped by her guards during her incarceration.

Gillian Gibbons, who was arrested when a school secretary complained to the authorities two months after the stuffed toy was named by pupils at Unity High School in Khartoum, said her greatest worry was that her guards would "teach the blaspheming white woman a lesson".

"That was my worst terror - that they would come in and teach me a lesson by raping me or that they would hit me," she said.

Pathetically, she still blames herself for the whole fiasco and slobbers over her time in the Sudanese hellhole.

Despite her ordeal, Ms Gibbons harbours no hostility or regrets, describing her time in the Sudan as "wonderful" and blaming herself for the "misunderstanding".

'Teddy Bear' Teacher Released

Pathetically, she claims to still have "great respect" for Islam. Perhaps she's just mouthing that until she gets out of that hellhole.

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) -- A British teacher jailed after she allowed her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad was released Monday hours after Sudan's president pardoned her, a British Embassy spokesman said.

The teacher, Gillian Gibbons, said she did not intend to offend anyone and had great respect for Islam.

"She is in British Embassy custody and is with the deputy British ambassador," embassy spokesman Omar Daair said. He would not give her exact location or say when she would leave Sudan.

Gibbons was sentenced on Thursday to 15 days in prison and deportation for insulting Islam because she allowed her students to name a class teddy bear Muhammad, seen as a reference to Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

The teacher's conviction under Sudan's Islamic Sharia law shocked Britons and many Muslims worldwide. It also inflamed passions among many Sudanese, some of whom called for her execution.

UPDATE: More from Hot Air and Michelle Malkin.

'Teddy Bear' Teacher Found Guilty, Gets 15 Days

The noble justices in the Islamic hellhole of the Sudan have found Gillian Gibbons guilty for the grave offense of insulting the world's 874 billion Muslims by having the audacity to have schoolchildren name a bear.

A British teacher has been found guilty in Sudan of insulting religion after she allowed her primary school class to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, has been sentenced to 15 days in prison after a day-long court hearing.

Mrs Gibbons had been accused on three counts of insulting religion, inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs.

She will be deported after serving her sentence.

These people sound more paranoid than Hugo Chavez.

Sudan's top clerics had called for the full measure of the law to be used against Mrs Gibbons and labelled her actions part of a Western plot against Islam.

The National Organization for Women was unavailable for comment.

H/T: Lawhawk.

'Teddy Bear' Teacher Charged

Well, it appears this report Tuesday was premature and as it turns out the Islamic hellhole of Sudan will indeed be charging Gillian Gibbons with assorted offenses over "insulting" Mohammed.

I guess world condemnation over Darfur just isn't brining enough attention to the Sudan.

A British teacher has been charged in Sudan with insulting religion, inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs.

The Foreign Office has confirmed that charges have been laid against 54-year-old Gillian Gibbons, who is from Liverpool.

She was arrested in Khartoum after allowing her class of primary school pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Lawyers say she faces six months in jail, 40 lashes or a fine if convicted.

Sudanese state media said prosecutors had completed their investigation and decided to charge Mrs Gibbons under Article 125 of the Sudanese criminal code.

The BBC's Amber Henshaw, in Khartoum, said Mrs Gibbons was expected to appear in court on Thursday.

Allahpundit has more on the travesty.

UPDATE: Check out this account of a Brit who received lashes in Qatar.

'Teddy Bear' Teacher May Be Freed

Gillian Gibbons, who had the temerity to grievously offend the delicate sensibilities of Muslims by allowing schoolchildren to name teddy bears after Mohammed, may be freed after all.

Expect mass rioting if this sensible decision is made.

A British teacher arrested for allowing her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad will probably be cleared and released soon, a spokesman for the Sudanese embassy in London said Tuesday.

Gillian Gibbons was arrested Sunday and faced possible charges of insulting religion - a crime punishable by up to 40 lashes. She was questioned by Sudanese authorities on Tuesday.

``The police is bound to investigate,'' embassy spokesman Khalid al Mubarak told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. ``I am pretty certain that this minute incident will be clarified very quickly and this teacher who has been helping us with the teaching of children will be safe and will be cleared.''

Asked about the potential punishments - six months imprisonment or 40 lashes - he said: ``My impression is that the whole thing could probably be settled amicably long before we reach stages like these ... Our relationship with Britain is so good that we wouldn't like such a minute event to be overblown.''

Gibbons was arrested after one of her pupils' parents complained, accusing her of naming the bear after Islam's prophet and founder. Muhammad is a common name among Muslim men, but giving the prophet's name to an animal would be seen as insulting by many Muslims.

What's more insulting is these people are so sensitive that this would becme an issue in the first place.

The Dreaded Teddy Bear of Blasphemy

The nonstop outrage from the Religion of the Perpetually Offended continues.

Now it's just beyond stupid.

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.

These people are insane.

Michelle Malkin has more.

UPDATE: Also at LGF