The Case of the Teddy and Resonances of the Salman Rushdie Affair

The furore that has built up on both sides, both within the UK and Sudan shows that there are various tensions bubbling under the surface. There are tensions between faiths and between those ultra-secularists and religious groups. Members of different faiths feel under pressure from the growing media tide of those who ridicule faith, whilst the secularists and followers of Dawkins believe that social policy is increasingly being influenced by religion, take Tony Blair and George Bush as two prominent examples in the West. My personal opinion is that the truth lies somewhere in the middle and any realist knows that there are influences from both religious and ultra secular groups on politicians and this will long continue after we have all departed beyond our mortal vestiges.


I also believe a few simple truths. As a Muslim, I see a greater threat in the furore here in the UK that this situation has created. The British Muslim community clearly feels under pressure due to geopolitical issues, yet again, the community is under the spotlight due to the actions of a Government that is neither their own, nor of their creation. The knee jerk and now very predictable counter-reaction has been taking place over the last 3 days. “Why don’t British Muslims stand up,” as if it was them who sentenced this poor lady? Nonetheless, many within British Muslim communities have stood up and stated that the actions of the Sudanese Government are bizarre and only add to the agenda of those on the political right who use such situations to proclaim that a ‘clash of civilizations is not far of.’

You see, this whole issue could have been dealt with by the Sudanese quite easily. The school in question could have offered the teacher some inter-cultural training on the sensitivities of working within the Sudanese educational system. Whilst it seems that the teddy affair was a genuine and honest mistake, the offer of some inter-cultural training (which all expatriate workers should have in my opinion), would have resolved the issue. Additionally looking at the UK, any teacher who works with diverse communities regularly receives training during their PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) year and it should therefore be no different for the teacher concerned in this case. After proposing some training, the matter should have been left there and should not have been ratcheted up to the insane level that we see haunting us on our television screens nightly.

The affair has helped nobody; neither the teacher concerned, nor the Sudanese people, their Government and nor British Muslims who have been lumped (once again) into geopolitical events. These events have a resonance of the Salman Rushdie affair and even then statements of a ‘clash of civilisation’ were being bounded about. This nauseating statement does not take into account the positive gain that migrants and British Muslims have brought to the UK and it deserves to be taken apart and shown up for the ‘smoke and mirrors’ that it is. Islam and Muslims are a part of the UK and will continue to be part and parcel of this country. I for one have no other country but the UK and would defend its shores if we were directly under attack. I also value the basic freedoms that we have and will continue to work for all communities within our country’s political structures. I also value diversity, have fought for gender equality and equal rights for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual communities and work on programmes valuing both Jewish and Muslim communities so that they can come together and work on social justice programmes throughout the UK. That to me is what my faith brings through the strong social justice theme that runs throughout it and that is what people want. In the end everyone wants be treated equally, with respect, dignity and integrity and I am afraid that incidents like this in Sudan, actually devalue these basic tenets. That is the saddest lesson of all!