In FrontPage today I discuss a day that Mayor de Blasio recently proclaimed, with ominous implications for New York’s residents.
Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old who was arrested for taking a clock that looked like a bomb to MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas, has attained mega-celebrity status at breakneck speed: he has been showered with gifts by Microsoft, courted by Mark Zuckerberg and MIT, invited to the White House, and much more. He received a VIP reception at the United Nations, where he met an admiring Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
What could be next? Maybe Pope Francis, ever anxious to appease Muslims, will make him the first living person to be canonized a saint; in the meantime, Ahmed will have to be content with the proclamation of Ahmed Day in New York City – a day with implications far more ominous than Ahmed’s ever-smiling countenance betrays.
Why is Ahmed Mohamed the world’s hero of the moment? People are wrongfully arrested all the time, and numerous children have fallen victim to schools’ zero-tolerance policy for weaponry, with suspensions for guns drawn on paper, pop-tarts chewed into the shape of a gun, and the like. But Ahmed Mohamed, according to the mainstream media narrative (endlessly dinned into our ears by those who are apparently aware of how implausible it is, and who think frequent repetition will put their lie over), was not arrested because of overzealous application of the zero-tolerance policy, but because he was a Muslim. School officials, you see, were so indefatigably “Islamophobic” that they singled out Ahmed for this harsh treatment, when if he had been a blond Methodist, they would have looked at his replica briefcase bomb and patted him on the back for his ingenuity.
And so Ahmed Mohamed is a living monument of “Islamophobia,” a sign of how racist rednecks victimize innocent Muslims in the U.S. on a routine basis, and to the enlightened Left, that makes him a hero of heroes. On Ahmed Day in New York City last Monday, Public Advocate Letitia James lauded him as a role model. Comptroller Scott Stringer likewise gave him a framed commendation and tweeted, “Ahmed Mohamed is a role model for all NYers.” Hard-Left Mayor Bill de Blasio told him, “Keep doing what you’re doing,” and tweeted: “A young man builds a clock and starts a movement.”
In what sense is Ahmed Mohamed a role model? What kind of movement has he started? To answer those questions, it is useful to recall two men who never got a Day proclaimed in their honor in New York City: Lance Orton and Duane Jackson. In May 2010, they were both working as vendors in Times Square when they spotted an unoccupied, illegally parked Nissan Pathfinder smoking, reeking of gunpowder and emitting sparks.
It was a car bomb, parked there by an Islamic jihadist named Faisal Shahzad, who explained in a video that “jihad, holy fighting in Allah’s course, with full force of numbers and weaponry, is given the utmost importance in Islam….By jihad, Islam is established….By abandoning jihad, may Allah protect us from that, Islam is destroyed, and Muslims go into inferior position, their honor is lost, their lands are stolen, their rule and authority vanish. Jihad is an obligation and duty in Islam on every Muslim.”
Orton and Jackson prevented Shahzad from fulfilling his obligation and duty to wage jihad by quick action: they alerted police, and Shahzad’s car bomb was defused before it could explode. Orton explained his actions by noting that he was a veteran and repeating the familiar counter-terror adage: “See something, say something.”
But what would have happened if Faisal Shahzad’s Nissan Pathfinder had not been rigged to explode at all, but was just, say, an innocent fireworks display? What if Faisal Shahzad had been arrested for this fireworks display after Orton and Jackson alerted police, only to charge everyone involved with “Islamophobia”? If Faisal Shahzad’s car had turned out to be innocent, in today’s political climate Orton and Jackson would be the objects of intense mainstream media vilification as “Islamophobes,” and Shahzad would be shaking hands with Barack Obama.
Ahmed Mohamed is a role model and the originator of a movement, all right. He is the killer of the “see something, say something” ethos – at least when it comes to Muslims. While non-Muslim students may still run afoul of the zero-tolerance for weapons policy in schools for pop-tart guns and pointing their fingers and saying “Bang,” school administrators will now think twice about subjecting Muslims to such suspicion, no matter how suspiciously they’re behaving.
The upshot of this ridiculous adulation of Ahmed Mohamed will be that Muslim students will now be exempted from scrutiny for bringing suspicious objects to school: to subject them to such scrutiny would be “Islamophobic.” Will some enterprising young jihadi take advantage of this favorable new situation, and make a clock that really is a bomb? If that ever happens, will Mayor de Blasio apologize for Ahmed Day? Will Barack Obama apologize for feting the lad at the White House? Of course not. For the Left, accountability is “McCarthyism.” And so St. Ahmed will continue to go from love fest to adulatory love fest, with the only people happier about it all than his Leftist adulators being Islamic jihadists.

Katnis says
Really unbelievable. We have been bullied into submission, uncomfortable with stating even the obvious.
I can’t stand this clock incident. I see some rumblings on mainstream media where some people are beginning to realize the whole thing was an overblown incident of a teenager making mischief. Too bad for the rest of the world that clock boy already got the ball rolling and most people don’t want to hear the truth.
Don McKellar says
It is complete MADNESS is what it is.
Don’t forget his dad — no doubt the man responsible for coaching him to do this.
His dad is an infamous Islamic supremacist with a long history of trying to promote Islam and silence critics of Islam. He even debated the great Robert Spencer of this site once! (and went down in flames, of course)
Did his dad coach him to do this? Of this we can almost be certain.
The result: BECAUSE HE’S A MOSLEM — he’s the most famous boy in the world, declared a hero, showered with gifts and accolades, all because he stuffed (or his dad stuffed) the insides of a clock radio into a metal box and acted all suspicious and was arrested for it (and released).
Katnis says
I completely agree. This is a family shenanigan, inspired by dear old dad.
Dr. Divinity says
I doubt that the kid even made the fake bomb
Angemon says
Don McKellar posted:
“Did his dad coach him to do this? Of this we can almost be certain.”
Mark Cuban vouches that when he talked with Ahmed “Clock Maker” Mohamed on the phone, Ahmed’s sister (Eyman “I’mma bomb this school” Mohamed) was giving him the answers to Mark’s questions.
ich says
if my eye twitches anymore it will pop out !
Don McKellar says
Great visual image! And so horribly true…
jihad3tracker says
I am not too worried about an “Ahmed Effect” lasting very long — his father is too loony to know when to quit milking the cow of fame.
His family will persist until finally anyone with TV or Internet will understand the backstory and see the victim-mongering.
Karen says
I desperately want to believe this…..
Westman says
I’m betting you’re right that the family or its extension will go too far in exploiting the opportunity and spoil the illusion.
In the meantime maybe the Pope can give Ahmed Sainthood.
Katnis says
I think that the word is getting out that the clock story is suspicious. I’ve heard a few people talking about it, plus there has been some media buzz questioning his claims.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/09/22/clock-controversy-may-cause-headache-for-obama-as-doubts-raised-about-story/?intcmp=ob_article_sidebar_video&intcmp=obnetwork
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
When it comes time for Ahmed’s father Mohamed Mohamed to get paid for the trauma his child has suffered — the lawyer on the other side of the table in an out of court settlement negotiation or, far less likely, at the other table in a court room — should run video of Ahmed during his various talk show appearances and photo ops after his meetings with important leaders and ask:
“Does this kid look traumatized to you?”
The case is so weak that my prediction is Mohamed Mohamed will have to settle for as little as $250,000 out of court. Yes, he’s got the media behind him all the way, but the only way Mohamed Mohamed can get the many millions of free money he wants is to deploy a really good pop psychologist to convince people that all those smiles were really a tortured boy crying out for help, screaming really. Gonna be tough.
Westman says
Like, Wow! Look at all those Tweets! I got a thousand likes on Facebook in the last hour and I’m trending on Yahoo. Do you want a Quran in this photo?
zuLU says
OT
Saudi Arabia insists UN keeps LGBT rights out of its development goals
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/saudi-arabia-insists-un-keeps-lgbt-rights-out-of-its-development-goals-a6671526.html
ECAW says
Britain gets the message:
http://i.imgur.com/8zJ2J1I.jpg
somehistory says
We can still hold out hope that there are some who will still do something when they see or hear something that speaks of a moslem using terrorism to make himself feel superior to everyone else who refuses to bow to satan’s beast.
Ms. Geller, Mr. Spencer, Mr. Ibrahim and others are still saying something about what they see and hear even when the mass media and those who can’t think, or don’t think, reasonably, going along with the idea that one should not speak the truth about islam…lie and fabricate in order to villify.
The truth is like the cheese…it stands alone. The truth cannot remain hidden…Jesus told us that…and so even if the little terrorist has his *day*…it won’t last. All things hidden will be revealed.
Jesus said that satan did not stand fast in the truth…that the devil is the father of the lie.
Those who admire and congratulate liars are admiring satan. islam is satan’s beast, built on a house of lies.
There will come a day…not the one the mayor of NYC has proclaimed…when this lie will go down into the pit where it belongs.
KrazyKafir says
Mayor de Commieo was born to be a prostrating dhimmi.
Jack Holan says
Dry run? Eyeball, procedure and after this, the choreographed reaction he is insulated in the future for himself and others in Texas. Where did a 9th Grader learn to be Passive-Aggressive evasive purport oneself with calm. This is terrorist counter interrogation methodology. Most kids in his situation not in a gang or having a record would be nervous likely be respectful and scared.
Mayor De Blasio like so many other stories you’ve got it wrong again. De Blasio, Ahmad did not BUILD a radio He to took the inside of one radio from its external shell and put it into another On TV it was done in 20 seconds. The fact that his sister has history of making a bomb threat innocently or not and a couple of other actionable incidents and the father is an attorney specializing inMuslim rights it has a fish smell to all of it
mortimer says
Dry run.
Dave J says
The gullibility and lack of curiosity shown by the media and politicians toward Ahmad matches exactly their attitude toward Islamism itself.
It is amazing and alarming that such a transparent fraud could not be recognized for what it was and instead is covered with the treacle of wishful thinking.
keith says
… we really have lame leadership, from top to bottom… I’m so embarassed to be a Dem that I don’t know what to do… vote for Trump as a protest, I guess… I apologize to the whole country for helping to elect (twice) this insane emperor who seems to hate (white) America…
Blitz2b says
All is not lost yet…. Spread the message to all your Dem. Buddies….
No matter who arises in the Republican primaries, boycott the corrupted Democrats, vote Republican…
The Democrats will shamelessly speed up the process to facilitate the Islamizing of America started by his royal turdness king Obama.
Lying Hillary and her sweet talking husband Bill Lewinsky will try and fool many Americans to vote Democrat again.
If Hillary is elected it’ll be the same sh!t spewing from a different pile. Hillary is yet another Islam sympathizer.
45charlie says
These guys are captains of industry? Give me a break. I can see Obama making an ass out of himself but these guys? After all Obama would have a son who would look like Trevon Martin a thug.
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
I think this essay overstates the harm caused by Ahmed-the-Inventor and the gala reception he has received. True, it will make school officials think twice before questioning a potential threat coming into the building, but this new self-imposed limitation will only really matter when it’s a Moslem student, and they are a small minority of all students.
So everything’s gonna be ok. In fact, better. Next time some dopey white kid chews a Pop-Tart in the shape of a gun, he won’t be treated like a suspected criminal. He’ll be free to be who he’s got to be, creatively, see, with no probable cause of criminality to let the authority move in for a look-see and at this point I can’t think of anything more that rhymes with “e”.
Not I said the sparrow says
Obama, Gates, Suckerberger, Bang Ki Moon…maybe the Pope…maybe God Almighty…and throw in a Nobel Prize for Physics.
I can’t imagine Steve Jobs jumping on this Mister Magoo bandwagon.
He could spot fake stuff a mile off.
And one more thing…our new gorilla glass watch which we’ve called The Ahmed!
It wouldn’t happen.
Thomas Edison was the real thing. As a teenager he invented some ticky-tocky device which spewed out the stockmarket results. Today’s smart teen who wanted to put a tick-tocky device in a box would start with an Arduino board and program an electronic “sketch” onto the board using the required C-like syntax. Ask around, young people know this stuff. But what does Genius Ahmed do -he gets a twenty year old clock, rips out the innards and stuffs them in a case for a project for which no teacher has come forward and provided bona fides.
At Lourdes a hundred thousand people saw the Sun tumble and fall out of the sky.
It was miracle. It was a mass delusion or hypnosis. And it happens still. Look at that line of eminent clowns lining up to bow, and kiss the hand of the boy wonder. And then the case fell open and Pope recognised that it was the same Made in China alarm clock that woke him at 4am every morning to…go to the bathroom.
Westman says
As someone who has designed, built, and programmed electronic devices I concur completely with your view. That people like Zuckerburg could get sucked into this is an indication of how isolated today’s programmers are from understanding the electronics that executes their code. I wonder if his hardware people will dare tell him the truth.
The real question, other than why did Ahmed lie about “inventing” and “building” the clock, is what and whose were the motives behind taking the box to school?
The dishonesty of claiming to build the clock is being questioned.
http://thefederalist.com/2015/09/23/6-unanswered-questions-about-ahmed-mohameds-clock/
Asian Crusader says
Mark ?uckerberg is not stupid, but he is profoundly evil in his thirst for the power over other people’s thoughts.
Barry Obama, ?uckerberg, MIT, Gates, Wilhelm (aka de Blazio) etc. know very well that they are playing along with a silly charade of “Ahmed the Inventor” cooked up by CAIR.
Most likely, the entire charade was quietly planned IN ADVANCE by CAIR with back-channel coordination with the White House.
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
That people like Zuckerburg could get sucked into this…
Don’t give him to much credit. All he did was have his buddies code up a knockoff of MySpace and leverage his prestigious Harvard pedigree to get venture capital. He’s to be given credit for a design that users prefer, such as the Like button, but he created a media property, not a technology. Then he screwed his buddies.
Much the same can be said of Bill Gates, who leveraged his dad’s money and connections, but couldn’t code his way out of a paper bag. Paul Allen did the actual technical work, and got screwed out of billions while on his deathbed with cancer when Bill confronted him with a lesser contract, taking Allen way down from 50-50. The revised contract was drawn up by… Bill’s dad.
don vito says
Put this invention up there with islam/s golden age, is;am invents alarm clock 2015.
mortimer says
Will ‘Ahmed Day’ be celebrated on September 11 from now on?
The 19 terrorists of 9/11 were also thought to ‘look innocent’?
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
The 19 terrorists of 9/11 were also thought to ‘look innocent’?
It was their shaved bodies.
DeMolay says
Obama will have been briefed by now that this was all staged. So will he…
A) announce the deception to the world and expose his sham for what it is, or
B) continue the charade and milk the situation to prop up the agenda he’s following ?
I know which my money is on !
DeMolay says
* this sham
Davegreybeard says
This is an obvious set up, so the question is who’s pulling the strings? Who’s planning, coordinating and facilitating this? It’s more than Obama.
Other questions are, did Zuckerberg willingly betray his country or was he coerced?
Undaunted says
Speaking of little Faisal and his kin and coreligionists; here’s what to look for and what to do…
http://freemendo.typepad.com/undaunted/2010/05/nyc-bomber.html
Jay Boo says
Why doesn’t Obama invite these innocent children to Meet & Great?
Dear President Obama:
Please help bring our daddy home children plead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvAH3-wXyE0
Christian pastor Saeed Abedini is still an Iranian hostage despite Obama’s “concern”
More Ham Ed says
“You didn’t build that” – Barack Obama July 13, 2012.
If you haven’t yet read the analysis,
Reverse Engineering Ahmed Mohamed’s Clock:
http://blogs.artvoice.com/techvoice/2015/09/17/reverse-engineering-ahmed-mohameds-clock-and-ourselves/
For those who haven’t seen the article yet.
خَليفة says
I wonder if I could get invited to the White House for “not building” something.
The sheer lack of sensible decision making on the part of Obama is indicative of fundamental flaws in his ability for critical thinking. Obama acts like a pot headed hack.
aron says
Classic example of Collective Psychopathology. Shows Stockholm Syndrome can happen as Collective psychosis.
I think 9/11 and its challenges has made America as nation traumatized psychologically.
These are actually symptoms of a Nation’s maladaptation and pathological escapism.
We need social scientists and psychiatrists to study this Western Dhimmi behavior as a collective mental disorder.
Billy says
When Ahmed visits the White House, he can bring his clock and the secret service should not inspect it since it’s harmless
DamnMaineYankee says
The problem is we simply arent welcoming enough to foreign cultures. It those Texas schoolboys wanted to do it right, they should’ve tried to make old Ahmed feel more at home. If they were Respecting Sharia law more, they would have known once little Ahmed claimed to invent a clock, when he merely repackaged one, this was intellectual property THEFT. They should have taken him out in their pickup truck and chopped off his hand! Its the multicultural thing to do.Its only fair we repsect Sharia for poor little Ahmed. Really to add some Texas flair, they should use a chainsaw and pushed the splatter video to YouTube like normal American kidswould! To be more welcoming, the young Texans should have given him a nickname. Stubby sounds nice,
david says
Excellent article. Took the words right out of my head. In no way can I understand why this boy is being made out to be some kind of modern day hero or “role model.” For what? Upside down. World.