The other night, I sat in amazement, watching the evening news. Seems that a teacher “had allowed” her young student to name a teddy bear, “Muhammed,” the name of the “last” prophet. On the face of it, I suppose that the action was tantamount to calling the same teddy bear, “Jesus.” Most Christians would object to that, with the reason being that the name is special and reserved for “the Holy One.”
The incident could have passed without notice, but it didn’t. Threats of violence against the teacher, Gillian Gibbons, were voiced. She will be deported from Sudan after serving jail time of fifteen days. That is a slight improvement over the 40 lashes first threatened. The sentence was meted out after Gibbons was found guilty of insulting Islam under Article 125 of a code.
To the western mind, the situation is bizarre. Perhaps the child could have been urged to chose a different name, and perhaps he could have been helped to select a more appropriate one. However, the angry faces of the irate men marching through the streets, calling for her death, and waving placards … is frightening and unbelievable.
Religion, when practiced in a fanatical sense, usually does more harm than good. Absolutism, the thought that either a person or a group of people are unequivocably right, is dangerous. The religion of Islam is one of the oldest belief systems and is worthy of respect as one of the world’s major religions. However, extremist Muslims who want to hurt other people and take over the world are only enacting a form of despotism and a form of 9-11 mentality.
We don’t have to look very far to read accounts of leaders who tried to ensure their own brand of religion. An example is the Christmas story itself, with Herod’s mandate of killing baby boys. We need not look very far, into supposedly religious lives, to find Popes who kept concubines and who could be “paid” to forgive sins or grant favors. In the workings of the Spanish Inquisition, we see “religion” at its worse, with the tortures, forced confessions, and burnings at the stake. In America, we can see some of these practices carried out against the “witches” of Salem, Massachusetts, and we acknowledge strict Puritanical thought, seated in intolerance.
The truth of the matter is that, in the long run, it matters not what a little boy calls a teddy bear. Love, understanding, forbearance: these are what matter in life. How can someone espouse to love God when he cannot and does not love his fellow man? For, we are told, we are all made in the likeness of the Creator. Anyone who would seek to BE a religious leader must first act like one, in word, thought, and deed. The old saying stands: “You can get more flies with honey than with vinegar.” So, to persuade anyone else that your particular brand of religion is best, try playing “nice.”
Patricia Cummings
Update on December 3, 2007: The President of Sudan has granted a presidential pardon to the British school teacher and she is now back in Great Britain. She reports feeling sorry to have been asked to leave the country. We are happy to see this tense situation come to a peaceful end.
