It was like something out of a medieval nightmare, the circumstances so bizarre and ridiculous to our western eyes that one begins to wonder if places like Khartoum are existing in the same century as the rest of us.

The British school teacher who innocently asked her students to name a teddy bear as part of a class project and found herself faced with a prospective punishment of 40 lashes because the kids chose the name of Mohammed, escaped with a sentence of just 15 days in jail and deportation.

But that's not good enough for the peaceful, compassionate inhabitants of the Sudan who want the teacher to suffer the ultimate penalty for teddy bear abuse:

Thousands of Islamic fanatics wielding clubs and knives are marching through the streets of Khartoum demanding the execution of teddy bear teacher Gillian Gibbons. As the mother-of-two started a 15-day prison term, protestors left mosques across the Sudanese capital to denounce the "lenient verdict" and call for the death penalty. The mob descended on Martyrs Square, which is in front of the presidential palace, many arriving in pick-up trucks with loudspeakers blaring messages condemning Miss Gibbons. Hundreds of riot police had been deployed but they made no attempt to disrupt the rally. "Shame, shame on the U.K.," protesters chanted," as they called for Gibbons' execution, saying, "No tolerance: Execution," and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad." A well known hardline cleric Abdul-Jalil Nazeer al-Karouri, whipped the crowd into a frenzy. "This is an arrogant woman who came to her country, cashing her salary in dollars, teaching our children hatred of the prophet Mohammed," he said. "Imprisoning this lady does not satisfy the thirst of Muslims in Sudan."