Alhamdulillaah, Susan Gibbons, the teacher accused of denigrating Islam, was pardoned and will be going home soon, after a delegation of Muslims from Britain met with the Sudanese administration.

A brief analysis of the facts in light of Islam:

1. Blasphemy against God and His Prophets is indeed a crime in an Islamic State. Although most practitioners of religion (including many secularized Muslims) have abandoned divine laws for man-made laws, in Islam, some things remain publicly sacred and inviolable. Yet, it is clear from the actions of the teacher that she did not commit the act in the first place. Firstly, she was not the one who selected the name - her students did. Secondly, it was clear the toy was named not after the Prophet, peace be upon him, but simply a common name found in the region. Her students and their parents themselves have testified as to her innocence.

2. Secondly, even if she did name the toy herself, it was clear her intention was not denigration of Muhammad. She made numerous statements to that end and her entire demeanor showed the incident was unintentional. On those grounds alone should she have been released. Even if someone intentionally blasphemes against Islam, if they recant their statement they are free, so what of someone who never intended it?

3. Thirdly, even if the Sudanese law was upheld, the government should have made a statement condemning the protestors or at least their position, for their demands were far beyond what the government itself stipulated. The job of the government is to maintain order, so while it might allow its people its right to protest, it should also have communicated with them, informing them of the specifics instead of allowing them to speculate on the case and fuel the outrage.

A Classical Example

Once a Bedouin urinated in the mosque, undoubtedly a disrespectful thing to do. When some of the Prophet’s followers got offended and incensed, he told them to leave the man alone and merely asked that they clean it. The Bedouin was impressed with the Prophet’s understanding of a different cultural norm and mindset. The Bedouin was merely used to a different code of conduct and had meant no harm.

What of Sudan? What of Islam?

The Sudanese government is not the first Muslim run government to attempt to uphold the Shari’ah. Yet, each locality of Muslims has its own culture, and this tends to influence their application of the Law. The Sudanese government had a specific law regarding the manner in which one could denigrate Islam, and applied it to Gibbons. Yet this was clearly nonsensical to the Muslims in other parts of the world. The culture of African countries is unique, as is the culture of Asian countries, which also differ from European countries, etc. This cultural variation is further complicated when outsiders: people outside the religion or outside the region interact with the society. If they are unfamiliar with the cultural patterns of one another, problems ensue.

Clearly education is vital for the Muslim world. Not only education of Islam itself, but of all knowledge which benefits, including exposure to different peoples and standards. This does not mean it has to give up its own principles, but this information will only aid its function and success. The Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam was not an ignorant person, but instead knew the peoples in his region as well as those beyond. He was open to knowledge and innovation. And he exercised wisdom.

This lack of understanding plagues the modern Muslim world, and it is up to the Muslims to remedy the problem. It is a good sign that the British Muslim community took such an active role in remedying the affair. Perhaps the Sudanese government, due to this incident, will gain insight and be able to modify their laws or the application thereof to avoid further crises. Similarly it is hoped more and more Muslims speak up about the events in the political world, clarifying Islam’s position on the issues, and working with each other to come closer to Islamic ideals.

And finally, Ms. Gibbons herself has shown immense sensitivity in this regard, immediately clarifying her position, and even apologizing to one of the faculty members who was offended by the toy. Not only that, she was able to understand that the culture of the region played a large part in the affair. The tragedy is that she never should have been arrested in the first place.

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