AP News, November 30th, 2007
The conviction of a British teacher for insulting Islam by letting her students name a teddy bear Muhammad has cast a spotlight on the issue of what Muslims consider offensive when it comes to use of the prophet's name. Here are some questions and answers.
Q: Why is the name Muhammad significant?
A: Muhammad literally means "the praised one," and is the name of the prophet who Muslims consider God's final messenger. Islam's holy book, the Quran, reminds Muslims not to raise their voices when speaking of the prophet and to behave respectfully. Everything about the Prophet Muhammad is beloved and his name is also considered beloved.
Q: Is it acceptable to use the name Muhammad in the Muslim world?
A: It all depends on the intention. Muslim parents find the name particularly auspicious. It is also acceptable to use the name, for example, as part of a company name, so long as the reference is not to the prophet. Such commercial names are fairly common throughout the Muslim world.
Q: So what's the objection to naming the teddy bear?
A: British Muslim organizations have strenuously condemned the Sudanese prosecution of the teacher, Gillian Gibbons, who was sentenced to 15 days in prison. Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, who chairs the interfaith council of the Muslim Council of Britain, says the Sudanese trial was more political than religious. Gibbons did make a mistake, he says, but it was an innocent one. A Muslim teacher would not have named a teddy bear Muhammad because "they know the score with the name," Mogra said, adding that such stuffed toys were largely alien to Sudanese culture. "In Britain, there are hardly any children who grew up without a teddy bear," Mogra said. "In the Sudanese culture, the bear is not a cuddly thing. It is seen as vicious, ferocious animal, and when you use the name Muhammad and attach it to a ferocious animal, there is scope there for it to cause (suspicion)."
Q: Do some Muslims think the Sudanese court went too far?
A: "The school principal should have had a word with her. And that should have been it," said Mohammed Shafiq, spokesman for the Ramadhan Foundation, a British Muslim youth organization. "What happened in the court's sentencing of her doesn't do international relationships any good ... She did not intend to demonize the Prophet Muhammad."
