Gillian Gibbons, the teacher jailed in the Sudan for allegedly insulting religion after she allowed her primary school class to name a teddy bear Muhammad, has been freed! Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir pardoned her after a meeting with two British Muslim peers, Baroness Warsi and Lord Ahmed.
Ibrahim Mogra from the Muslim Council of Britain told BBC News 24 that the whole saga was very damaging for the image of the Muslim faith.
"Each time we have stories like these, that distort what Islam stands for or misrepresents what the compassion of Muslim law stands for.
"Then we have repercussions and people begin to feel that Islam has no place in modern society, whereas we believe that Islam is for all time to come.
"I have not come across one single Muslim in our country who has supported what has happened.''
President Omar al-Bashir had been under pressure from Sudanese hard-liners to ensure Gillian served her full sentence. There had even been calls for a retrial and for the sentence to be increased. She had been held in a secret location due to fears for her safety.
Please let's continue to pray, not only for Gillian's safe return home, but for love and compassionate understanding between people of faith, whether Christian or Muslim, over this deeply troubling incident.
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