tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1392211719163936358.post-18454506937480732672007-11-29T19:28:00.001Z2007-11-30T10:33:28.963Z2007-11-30T10:33:28.963ZDuring my schooldays there were a couple of occasions when, to get out of a particularly dismal afternoon of lessons, we'd set the fire alarm off. You could get a way with it a couple of times a term, and it relied on no holier-than-thou swot snitching on you. It was well worth the risk to avoid double French.<br /><br />So I have a certain admiration for little Muhammad sitting in a Sudanese classroom, bored to tears by some fat white woman leading a "ah, ber, ker, der..." chant for days on end. I'm sure he looked round for a fire alarm, but in the end settled for something far more subtle.<br /><br />"Miss, I think that we should name the bear 'Muhammad'". A knowing glance round to all his classmates, and all that was required was to decide who was going to run home and spill the beans to Mum. No school until 2008, and a maybe even a chance to go to a lashing rather than the usual boring panto.<br /><br /><br /><em>BBC News item:<br />A British schoolteacher has been arrested in Sudan accused of insulting Islam's Prophet, after she allowed her pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad. <br /><br />Colleagues of Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, said she made an "innocent mistake" by letting the six and seven-year-olds choose the name. <br /><br />Ms Gibbons was arrested after several parents made complaints. <br /><br />The BBC has learned the charge could lead to six months in jail, 40 lashes or a fine.</em>Charles Lettermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154962418772628193noreply@blogger.com6