Clock Incident Reveals Islamophobia in America

By Taryn Loftus

When Texas teen, Ahmed Mohamed, brought a homemade clock to school, he was expecting praise from his teachers. Instead, administrators called the police because they thought he had brought a bomb to school. The police detained him for several hours and interrogated Ahmed without the presence of his parents. National coverage of this event did not focus on this injustice and instead rationalized the school’s response. This media coverage itself emphasizes the severe Islamophobia in our country.

A simple Google search of “Ahmed” yields countless articles intended to destroy the massive support system for Mohamed after the arrest went viral. Aspiring politicians have publicly voiced anti-Muslim sentiments (Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson stated that he “absolutely would not agree to” a Muslim president; Donald Trump claimed that he would be looking into removing Muslims from the country). Elaborate “conspiracy theories” have surfaced, some declaring that the clock was in fact a bomb, and others going so far as to say that the arrest of Mohamed was planned as part of an intricate scheme in which the fourteen-year-old used his invitation to the White House as an opportunity to blow it up.

Regardless of how much support is being offered to Mohamed, the vast amount of publications and people voicing anti-Muslim opinions validates that Islamophobia in America is a very real and degrading issue.

For a nation that claims to be immune from religious prejudice due to the designated freedom to practice one’s own chosen religion, there seem to be countless incidents of bias against Muslims.

These prejudices do not end there though. Slightly over a week ago at Fordham, an incredibly derogative racial slur was crudely carved into the door of an African-American student, and a backwards swastika was discovered on the same floor a week later.

Although the swastika was not specifically directed towards some particular individual (as far as authorities are concerned), this is just another example of the ignorant approach that some American citizens take to religious prejudice. There are individuals who see religious insults as casual interactions. As a white Christian I would be lying if I said I have ever been the victim of racial or religious prejudice, as is the case, I would assume, with most white Christians. However, those of other faiths have not received that some privilege.

Anyone who uses the popular social media Vine will likely be able to recognize the “Surprise Jihad” videos in which popular culture is used as a platform to stage the 9/11 attacks in a six second video. These videos typically start off with some TV show reference, often where one or more characters then fly away, and the scene changes to depict a plane entering the World Trade Center with a Muslim yelling “allahu akbar” in the background. Several of these short clips have gone viral, taking to sites like Twitter and Facebook. The fact that these clips were so popular speaks volumes about the lack of concern that people have towards the well-being and self confidence of those of Islamic faith. In a world where “random screenings” at airports allow for Muslim fliers to be targeted as potential threats and searched as white people are assumed to be safe, it is surprising that more people do not consider how degrading it must be to constantly be viewed as dangerous. When the clock that a fourteen-year-old student has altered and rebuilt of is mistaken for a bomb, the reaction should be one of disgust at the administrators who tried to suppress this boy’s innovative passion. There are countless individuals who did react accordingly, expressing their admiration for the boy’s determination and offering encouragement for him to continue his education and strive to overcome the religious prejudice. However, for each supportive statement, there is a crude insult to either Mohamed’s intelligence or religious affiliation.

Islamophobia itself is more dangerous than the Muslim community as a whole. Unrest in the Middle East has led to massacres of Muslims, for the most part of those who have had no intention of becoming extremists. More civilians have died from the wars resulting in 9/11 than from the incident itself, and the danger continues beyond that. Consistently degrading an individual simply for being a member of a religious community is so detrimental to one’s self-worth.

One other possibility is for that individual to embody all of what is being said of him or her, in sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy, and a peaceful individual could very well become an extremist. The evidence of Islamophobia in America is overwhelming, and all it takes is one teenager building a clock to draw out those who are severely plagued with an unjust hatred of a community due to the actions of few. If Islamophobia truly is the most dangerous aspect regarding Muslims, then it is those who degrade members of the Islamic faith that are the real dangers to society.

Taryn Loftus, FCRH ’19, is a communication and media studies major from Windsor, Connecticut.