حكاية المدرسة غيبونز من" منظور ولي امر/والد"

Quote: I am a Unity School parent. I have two children who go to that school in Khartoum. Last Monday they came back home early, around 10:00 a.m., with a brief note from the school director. The school was shut down indefinitely due to the “misunderstanding caused in the Ministry of Education.” It is to remain closed “until the situation is resolved,” and “we look forward to your understanding and support in this matter.” Until that moment we had no idea what was going on, and we did not know what the “misunderstanding” was about. We were accustomed to the Ministry of Education harassing the school’s administration, which is British and Christian, so we thought it was another episode. In Ramadan of last year, the Ministry forced the school to close earlier than scheduled. Public schools usually close in the second half of the month of Ramadan by orders of the Ministry. The private Unity School follows a different calendar and starts the academic year a couple of months after public schools. When the School remained open well into the second half of Ramadan, the Ministry intervened and forced its closure. Learning the lesson, this Ramadan the administration on its own closed the school early. As a Muslim, I know there is nothing in Islam about closing schools in Ramadan. But, after more than 18 years under the Machiavellian Inqaz rule, Sudanese people have become accustomed to fabrications in Islam and tailor-made teachings. The story of Gillian Gibbons, the Unity School teacher, has been widely publicized in the media, local and international. I would like, however, to highlight some facts: Ms. Gibbons was one of the best teachers in the school. She is a very professional, decent and caring person, who is loved by all her students. Offending other people’s religious sentimentalities is beyond her character. The naming of the teddy bear was done by the students in her class, whose parents are predominantly Muslim. Practicing democracy at second-grade age, the class voted overwhelmingly to name the teddy bear Muhammad, after Muhammad al-Arabi, a popular student in the class, whose name was listed among other contenders. The whole teddy bear incident took place and ended months ago; it’s not a current event. None, I repeat NONE, of the predominantly Muslim parents complained or felt offended. The story that the parents were offended and complained to the Ministry of Education was fabricated by SMC, a local news agency affiliated with the Sudanese National Security, and it was widely disseminated to the press. The involvement of the National Security behind the scenes comes against the backdrop of Western pressure on Sudan with regard to the crisis in Darfur. It also comes after the recent diplomatic row between Khartoum and London emanating from Gordon Brown’s call for sanctions against the Government of Sudan. The GoS responded in anger and dismay. So, “someone” behind the scenes found a well-known British school in Khartoum as a soft target. An incident, which took place some months ago and was a non-event at the time, is brought back to life. A British teacher is accused of blaspheming Islam. The National Security uses its media outlet to spread misinformation that Prophet Muhammad has been insulted. Religious fanatics go out in the streets of Khartoum holding swords and calling for the teacher’s execution. The British government gets alarmed and calls upon GoS to secure the teacher's freedom and welfare. Lord Ahmed comes to Khartoum. He meets with junior officials, and he waits for a day or two until he is granted the “great honor” of meeting president Bashir (the best is saved for last!). Then Bashir pardons the poor teacher. Gordon Brown thanks Bashir for the good-will gesture. Bashir is hailed as a hero and as a forgiving, tolerant man. Why would anyone want to impose sanctions against such an angel?! Hisham Khartoum, 04-Dec-2007