Sudanese Muslim Offence Level: Rising

The New York Times reports that a British junior school teacher is in jail in Khartoum. Her crime? Offending the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). It's not reported whether the Prophet has been in touch with anyone to explain about his offendedness, but you know what these Gods and Prophets are like. They never call. They're not even on Facebook.

What actually happened was that the teacher brought a teddy bear into class for a project with the seven-year-old kids. First job: name the bear. 20 out of 23 kids chose Muhammed from a list of eight names.

I don't get this. Really I don't. Why is it considered offensive to give this name to a warm, cuddly toy that kids of all ages love? Is it projecting the wrong image of the Prophet? Would it be ok to name a ferocious warrior toy after Him? And why is it ok for many thousands of men, some of whom have IQs appoaching zero, to be named after him? How is an educated non-Muslim supposed to know what the rules are (answer to last question: you're not - the rules are made up as we go along). And why is everyone assuming that the bear is named after the Prophet - I believe the caretaker at that school is called Muhammed and everyone really likes him.

Once more, Islamic hardliners are making their religion look ridiculous. How sad.