About this British woman jailed in Sudan for naming a teddy bear 'Mohamed'...

I just did a phone interview for the FSN radio feed with a friend from Sudan. He said that he had not heard people calling for her death (like the news has been reporting). Some people are hurt by what she did, but many feel that she should not be jailed. Unfortunately, those who oppose her incarceration can not openly express their feelings.

Sudan is a very religious country, and naming anything besides a person is offensive to them. But it was the students who named the bear, not the teacher. Even the people who put her in jail must realize that it was an honest mistake. Mohamed is by far the most common name in the country. I think it has more to do with a general anti-western sentiment over the deployment of UN troops in Darfur, than wanting to punish her for this "crime".