Mosque leader 'relieved' at teacher's release

5:25pm Monday 3rd December 2007

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A MOSQUE leader says members of the Muslim community in High Wycombe are "relieved" that British teacher Gillian Gibbons has been released from a Sudanese jail.

The 54-year-old teacher was sent to prison last week for allowing children in her class to call a teddy bear Muhammad, the name of Islam's Prophet, but was pardoned by Sudan's president this morning.

Zafar Iqbal, chairman of the Jubilee Road Mosque in High Wycombe, said: "There was a lot of anger among the whole community, Muslims and non-Muslims.

"The whole scenario wasn't understood properly. It was a genuine mistake. The main thing is that she has been pardoned, but it is a bit late.

"It was a mistake from both sides. She made a mistake with her lack of knowledge and they took it too seriously without looking at the reality.

"We were so pleased to hear the news. We were under a lot of pressure because we try and bring the community together, we work very hard at it."

The Jubilee Road mosque is holding an open day on Sunday, December 9, to celebrate its 25th birthday. Anyone living in the High Wycombe area is welcome to visit the mosque, where there will be guided tours, displays about calligraphy and the Qur'an and a talk on the role of Jesus and Mary in Islam.

The mosque's Imam, Imam Jeelani, said: "I encourage everybody to take advantage of this opportunity to come and visit us and find out more about Islam. I sincerely hope that this event will in some small way contribute to all our efforts to build friendships and understanding across our community."

The guided tours will run from 12pm until 5pm.