Some fear-mongering against muslims is done by atheists. Richard Dawkins and Bill Maher provided recent examples.
Cenk Uygur, host of the The Young Turks, breaks it down. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.
“Over the weekend, both Dawkins and Maher eagerly leapt to question the motives of Ahmed Mohamed, the Texas teen who was handcuffed and arrested for suspicion of bringing “a hoax bomb” to school when he showed up with a homemade clock. Mohamed’s story — one in which a school system that already had a history ofquestionable sentiments toward Islam had an overreaction to a scientifically Muslim curious kid — has become an international news story, culminating Mohamed receiving an invitation from the president to the White House. But where some have seen an outpouring of support for an inventive 14 year-old kid, others have wondered if there isn’t something a little more… suspicious going on here.”*
Read more here: http://www.salon.com/2015/09/21/bill_…
Comments
Cenk, I hope you read this because I think you are being horribly unfair.
At first, I was just as outraged about the Ahmed story because it sounded like a kid had spent a lot of time building a clock to was arrested because teachers overreacted and thought it was a bomb.
However, after taking some time to read about the story I found that the initial narrative does not match the facts.
1. Ahmed did not “MAKE” a clock. He took a clock out of its case and put it inside a metal case`.
https://youtu.be/CEmSwJTqpgY
2. Ahmed took the case to school and showed his engineering teacher. Who said that it was cool, but that he should not have brought it to school because it looks suspicious and he should keep it put away during class.
3. He then took the case to other classes and showed it to students, but when he set the alarm off during English class, the teacher asked him what it was and he did not answer. She sent him to the principals office and called the police because she thought Ahmed had created a fake bomb and brought it to school..
Those are the facts. So judging by the facts I believe there are a couple of possible scenarios.
A. Ahmed took a clock out of its manufactured housing and put it into a metal case in order to make it look like a hollywood movie style suitcase bomb with the intention of frightening or intimidating fellow classmates a couple days after September 11th. Why? Perhaps he was mistreated and called a terrorist a couple days before and decided to bring it as a prank to get back at students who joshed him about his religion.
or
B. He took the clock apart and put it into a metal case in order to impress other students by claiming that he had created it. He then naively failed to realize that putting it into a metal case may make it look like a movie style bomb.
Although plausible the latter seems very bizarre. I don’t think it is fair to criticize Professor Dawkins for questioning his motivations because it seems very strange or unlikely that a kid would take apart a clock to claim he made it.
While I would agree that calling the police was inappropriate, it is only a matter of course for our “Zero-tolerance society” that treats every perceived threat as a serious crime. It’s not hard to imagine that any other student would be treated just as harshly, because sometimes they want to send a message (to other students that there will be “ZERO” tolerance).
Cenk manages to malign Maher with this latest tirade by:
a) Conflating Maher’s calm, factual statements with Dawkins’ racially tinged tweets (inherently a dishonest tactic). Dawkins sounds like he’s entered nutville; Maher’s take is reasoned and well-founded.
b) Distorting Maher’s calm view of the matter. Per Maher: That nerdy kid sounds cool, it was a terrible error to arrest him (“they owed him an apology, no doubt about it”), and that the metal box with wires, digital counter and a circuit board sticking out of it did, yes, to the untrained eye, “looked exactly like a bomb.”
c) Conveniently ignoring a basic fact: As Maher said, “For the last 30 years, it’s been one culture that has been blowing shit up over and over again.”
It’s really dismaying to see Cenk and so many other progressives fail to honestly confront or at least try to refute the terrorism that has has become endemic to Islamic fundamentalism. Instead, people like Cenk put up smokescreens and rant wildly about bigotry — anything to avoid a basic fact: “For the last 30 years, it’s been one culture that has been blowing shit up over and over again.”
Here, for example, is a partial list of Muslim terrorism attacks successfully pulled of in 2015:
Iraq January 6, 2015 – Two suicide bombers attacked a mosque in the town of Al-Jubba while Iraqi soldiers were resting, killing 10 soldiers plus the two attackers. Clashes following the bombings left 13 security personnel dead and 21 wounded.
France January 7–9, 2015 – A series of 5 attacks in and around Paris kill 17 people, plus 3 attackers, and leave 22 other people injured.
Nigeria January 8, 2015 – 2015 Baga massacre. Boko Haram attacks town of Baga in northern Nigeria killing at least 200 people. Another 2000 are unaccounted for.
Lebanon January 10, 2015 – In the 2015 Jabal Mohsen suicide attacks 9 people died and 30+ were wounded.
Egypt January 29, 2015 – January 2015 Sinai attacks. 44 killed, several wounded.
Pakistan January 30, 2015 – Suicide bomber kills at least 55, injuring at least 59 in a Shiite mosque in southern Pakistan.
Pakistan February 13, 2015 – Heavily armed militants killed at least 19 people and wounded more than 40 after they stormed into a Shiite mosque during Friday Prayer in a suburb of Peshawar.
Denmark February 14–15, 2015 – 2015 Copenhagen attacks. A gunman opened fire at the Krudttoenden café and later at the Great Synagogue in Copenhagen, killing two civilians and injuring five others.
Nigeria March 7, 2015 – Five suicide bomb blasts leave 58 dead and 143 wounded in the 2015 Maiduguri suicide bombing.
Pakistan March 15, 2015 – Suicide bombers kill at least 15 people in attacks on two churches in Lahore.
Tunisia March 18, 2015 – Bardo National Museum attack. Militants linked to ISIL attack the Bardo National Museum with guns, killing 21 people and injuring around 50.
Yemen March 20, 2015 – 2015 Sana’a mosque bombings. 135 killed in bombings on several mosques by ISIL.
Libya March 25, 2015 – ISIL affiliates, The Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries in Libya carried out suicide bombings in the city of Benghazi. Twelve were killed and 25 wounded. Five additional dead during attacks with a local militia.
Somalia March 27, 2015 – Makka al-Mukarama hotel attack. 20+ dead 28 wounded.
Kenya April 2, 2015 – 148 killed in Al-Shabaab’s Garissa University College attack.
Saudi Arabia April 8, 2015 – In the city of Riyadh two policemen are shot dead. ISIL is blamed to be behind the attack.
Somalia April 14, 2015 – Militants of Al-Shabaab attack a government building in Mogadishu in the 2015 Ministry of Higher Education attack. 17 dead 15 wounded.
Iraq April 17, 2015 – A series of bombings by the ISIL occurred through Baghdad. 40+ killed 59+ injured.
IraqIraqi Kurdistan April 17, 2015 – A car bomb exploded at the entrance of the US consulate in Erbil, Iraq. ISIL took credit for the attack. 3 killed 5 wounded
Afghanistan April 18, 2015 – A suicide bomb detonated in front of a bank in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. ISIL claims responsibility. 33 killed 100+ injured.
France April 19, 2015 – A 32-year Frenchwoman is murdered by a gunman whose plot to attack a church is foiled shortly after.
Somalia April 20, 2015 – A minivan of UN workers was bombed by Al-Shabaab in the Puntland region of Somalia. 9 dead 4 injured.
Bosnia and Herzegovina April 27, 2015 – At the Zvornik police station terrorist attack in the city of Zvornik, Republika Srpska, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, an armed member of a wahhabist movement opened fire on the police. In the shooting, a police officer was killed, two others were injured, and the attacker was killed by police.
Iraq May 3, 2015 – Two car bombs were detonated ten minutes apart in Baghdad, Iraq. Nineteen were killed and an unknown number wounded. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks.
United States May 3, 2015 – Two gunmen attacked the Curtis Culwell Center during a ‘Draw Muhammad’ cartoon art exhibit in Garland, Texas . 2 dead (perpetrators) 1 injured
Afghanistan May 3, 2015 – Taliban militants overran checkpoints in Warduj, killing 17 policemen.
Afghanistan May 4, 2015 – A government bus was attacked by a suicide bomber in Kabul, killing one person and injuring 15 others.
Iraq May 10, 2015 – Two car bombs were detonated ten minutes apart in Baghdad, Iraq and surrounding towns of Taji and Tarmiyah. ISIS claims responsibility. 14 were killed and wounding 30.
Afghanistan May 10, 2015 – A bus carrying Afghan government employees was attacked in Kabul by a suicide bomber, killing 3 people and injuring 10. Taliban claimed responsibility.
Pakistan May 13, 2015 – A bus carrying Shia Muslims was attacked by six armed gunman who rode up in motorcycles. Several Islamist groups claim responsibility. 45 dead 13 injured.
Afghanistan May 14, 2015 – A hotel that was hosting a cultural event was attacked by Taliban fighters in Kabul leaving 14 dead including an American, an Italian, and 4 Indians.
Afghanistan May 17, 2015 – A Taliban suicide attack near the entrance of Hamid Karzai International Airport targeting a European police training vehicle. 3 dead 18 injured.
Afghanistan May 19, 2015 – A suicide car bombing detonated in the parking lot of a Justice Ministry building in the diplomatic section of Kabul, killing 4 people wounding 42.
Libya May 21, 2015 – A suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a military checkpoint outside of Misrata killing himself and two guards.
Saudi Arabia May 22, 2015 – A suicide bomber attacked a Shia mosque during prayer in the al-Qadeeh village. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. 21 dead +90 injured.
Afghanistan May 25, 2015 – Taliban militants killed 19 policemen and six soldiers during a siege at a police compound in Nawzad District of Afghanistan.
Kenya May 26, 2015 – Al-Shabaab militants attacked two police patrols which turned into a gun battle north of Garissa, 5 police officers were injured but they were able to kill both of the attackers.
Iraq May 28, 2015 – Two car bombs were set off minutes apart targeting the Cristal Grand Ishtar Hotel and the Babylon. 10 killed and 30 wounded.
Saudi Arabia May 29, 2015 – A suicide bomber attacked a Shia mosque in Dammam detonating the bomb in the parking lot. 4killed, unknown injured
Iraq June 1, 2015 – Three suicide bombers in humvees attacked an Iraqi police station in the Tharthar region in Northern Anbar Province. 41 dead, 63 wounded.
Iraq June 13, 2015 – Four suicide SUV car bombs went off in an Iraqi police station in the Hajjaj near Tikrit and Baiji. 11 dead, 27 injured.
France June 26, 2015 – Saint-Quentin-Fallavier attack – Beheading in a factory near Lyon, head marked with Arabic writing and Islamist flags. Gas canisters planted provoked a fire. 1 dead, 11 injured.
Kuwait June 26, 2015 – 2015 Kuwait mosque bombing – 27 people killed in explosion at Shia Imam Sadiq mosque in Kuwait City, medical sources tell Al Jazeera. Claimed by ISIS
Tunisia June 26, 2015 – 2015 Sousse attack – Attack in Tunisia against two tourist hotels, over 28 people died.
Somalia June 26, 2015 – Battle of Leego (2015) Attack on AMISOM base in Somalia with a car bomb, assault rifles and RPGs, causing over 30 military deaths.
Israel June 29, 2015 – 2015 Shuvat Rachel shooting shooting attack on civilian car, 1 death.
Turkey July 20, 2015 – 2015 Suruç bombing – Suicide bombing kills 33 people and injures 104 in Kurdish majority city of Suruç. ISIL claims responsibility.
Iraq August 13, 2015 – 2015 Baghdad market truck bombing – Powerful truck bomb in a Baghdad market kills more than 70 and injures 200.
Thailand August 17, 2015 – 2015 Bangkok bombing – Bomb next to downtown shrine kills 20 foreign tourists. Police suspect Grey Wolves (organization) seeking to create pan-Islamic state across Asia.
France August 21, 2015 – 2015 Thalys train attack – Shooting and stabbing in train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris injures 5. The incident is believed by French police to be an Islamist terrorist attack
Iraq September 17, 2015 – Two suicide bombings in Baghdad kills 10, injures 55. ISIL claims responsibility. [
Germany September 17, 2015 – An Islamist of Iraqi descent attacked and injured a police officer with a knife in Berlin. 1 injured, 1 dead (perpetrator).
This is a story that made respectable people to call upon belief and not rationality, as they do not most of the time. As Bill Maher said (paraphrasing): I cannot understand a neurosurgeon who believes in a 5000 years old Earth. In their defense, (Bill Maher and Richard Dawkings) they made a mistake on judging the project from Hollywood footage. (if it was a round clock it would look like a timer for TNT or C4). Bill Maher is right when he says that brilliant people with conviction blew things up, but, the common issue was always segregation. (you are not one of us)
If there is any chance that a 14 year old child would speak up after he is handcuffed, and not listen to people who really care for him in a distressing moment (his sister), I would like to meet him.
Yes, it looks like a bomb, like any device that has a chip that counts impulses an can be attached to something that blows.
In a nutshell “Do not judge a book by its cover”
this is my opinion on this case.
P.S. Did somebody measure the manure in that child”s pants when he was arrested?
I am saddened that they both are pro suspicion when it comes to muslims. Their anti-islamic attitudes do not reflect well on them. That said, both when out of their way to say that the kid should NOT have been arrested over this. I think your headline is somewhat misleading.