Sudan's legal system is strongly influenced by sharia, which prohibits depictions of Muhammad and other prophets.[1] However, many Muslim organizations in other countries publicly condemned the Sudanese over their reactions,[6] as Gibbons did not set out to cause offence.[7] The chairman of the Unity School council, Ezikiel Kondo, indicated that he perceived ulterior motives in the affair: "The thing may be very simple, but they just may make it bigger. It's a kind of blackmail."[8]