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Teddy Teacher Spurs UK to Kill Own Blasphemy Law

House of Lords strikes down statute questioned since Sudan teddy-bear case

By Jonas Oransky, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 6, 2008 2:12 PM CST

(Newser) – Britain's House of Lords voted yesterday to abolish blasphemy laws after an international incident sparked debate over secularism and tradition, the Los Angeles Times reports. With the UK and Sudan at odds in November over the prosecution of a British teacher allowing students to name... Read full story »

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Islam • Christianity • Sudan • hypocrisy • Britain • blasphemy • teddy bears • Gillian Gibbons • Jesus Christ

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Teddy Bear Teacher Tells Her Own Tale

Gibbons doesn't regret going to Sudan, blames herself for ordeal

(NEWSER) - "I had no idea at all that I'd done something wrong," Gillian Gibbons tells the Guardian in an interview about her incarceration in Sudan for letting her class name a teddy bear Mohammed. But the teacher's ordeal hasn't soured her on Khartoum, which she calls a "wonderful place," and neither is Gibbons trying to bandy blame. More»

'Terrified' Teddy Bear Teacher Happy to Be Home

Shocked adventure-seeker got 'more than I bargained for'

(NEWSER) - Safely home after a "terrifying" ordeal in a Sudanese jail for allowing a class Teddy bear to be named Muhammad, teacher Gillian Gibbons was delighted to be back with family today. "I went out there to have a bit of an adventure and I got more than I bargained for," quipped Gibbons, 54, as she landed at Heathrow Airport and thanked the two British Muslim peers who negotiated her pardon. More»

Teddy Bear Teacher Goes Free

Amid protests over pardon, educator to head home to UK

(NEWSER) - Gillian Gibbons was released today after a week behind Sudanese bars and apologized "if I have caused any distress," the Guardian reports. Though some called for her death, Gibbons wasn’t bearing a grudge. “I have encountered nothing but kindness from the Sudanese people,” she said in a statement. A spokesman for Sudan’s London embassy said protesters represented a fringe element. More»

Armed Mob Wants British Teacher Dead

Teddy bear case turns uglier as thousands protest in Khartoum

(NEWSER) - An armed mob thousands strong protested in front of the presidential palace in Khartoum today, demanding the execution of the British teacher who allowed her students to name a teddy bear "Mohammed." Meanwhile, Britain's first Muslim MP is flying to Sudan to push for the teacher's early release, the London Times reports. More»

Sudan Will Jail, Deport Teddy Bear Teacher

Gibbons gets 15 days and the boot for bear named 'Muhammad'

(NEWSER) - A Sudanese court sentenced British schoolteacher Gillian Gibbons to 15 days in prison and deportation from Sudan for inciting religious hatred by allowing her students to name a class teddy bear Muhammad, the Guardian reports. The sentence represented something of a success for British officials, who had said they would do everything possible to prevent Gibbons from receiving 40 lashes, a possible sentence. More»

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Teddy Teacher Spurs UK to Kill Own Blasphemy Law

House of Lords strikes down statute questioned since Sudan teddy-bear case

Islam • Christianity • Sudan • hypocrisy • Britain • blasphemy • teddy bears • Gillian Gibbons • Jesus Christ

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More Newser Stories

Teddy Bear Teacher Tells Her Own Tale

Gibbons doesn't regret going to Sudan, blames herself for ordeal

'Terrified' Teddy Bear Teacher Happy to Be Home

Shocked adventure-seeker got 'more than I bargained for'

Teddy Bear Teacher Goes Free

Amid protests over pardon, educator to head home to UK

Armed Mob Wants British Teacher Dead

Teddy bear case turns uglier as thousands protest in Khartoum

Sudan Will Jail, Deport Teddy Bear Teacher

Gibbons gets 15 days and the boot for bear named 'Muhammad'

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