Who Believed There Was A Bomb and When Did They Believe It?
What Ahmed Mohamed’s Clock Says About Belief and Moral Panic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/bsor.v44i4.28907Keywords:
moral panic, belief, terrorismAbstract
Thousands have expressed outrage over the treatment of Ahmed Mohamed, a 14-year-old Muslim student at MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas, who was arrested after trying to show his English teacher an electronic clock he had constructed. The principal as well as mayor Beth Van Duyne (who has previously appeared on Glenn Beck to discuss her fears over sharia law) have defended the actions of the school and police. But critics have speculated that neither the school nor police ever actually believed Mohamed had a bomb and that this was really a case of bigots humiliating a Muslim student under the pretense of public safety. This critique raises important questions about the mechanisms of moral panic. Is it necessary to believe in a threat to take action against it?
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Campbell, Andy. 2015. “I’m the Person Who Built a Clock and Got in Trouble For It,” Huffington Post, September 16. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/im-the-person-who-built-a-clock-and-got-in-trouble-for-it_55f9f6e6e4b08820d91751d4.
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Fernandez, Manny, and Christine Hauser. 2015. “As Jade Helm 15 Military Exercise Begins, Texans Keep Watch ‘Just in Case.’” New York Times, July 15. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/16/us/in-texas-a-military-exercise-is-met-by-some-with-suspicion.html?_r=0
Fernandez, Manny, and Christine Hauser. 2015. “Handcuffed for Making Clock, Ahmed Mohamed, 14, Wins Time with Obama.” New York Times, September 16. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/us/texas-student-is-under-police-investigation-for-building-a-clock.html?_r=2.
Ferner, Matt. 2015. “Irving Mayor Defends School And Cops, Doesn’t Apologize for Arrest of Muslim Teen Over Clock.” HuffingtonPost, September 17. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/irving-mayor-defends-school-and-cops_55f9dbc0e4b08820d917310e.
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HG.org. 2015. “What Are the Consequences for Making Bomb Threats?” http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=31836.
Huxley, Aldous. 2009 The Devils of Loudun. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Labbe, J. R. 2002. “Zero-Tolerance Policies Demonstrate the Death of Common Sense in Schools,” The Day, March 22, A7.
Mandelbaum, David G. 1966. “Transcendental and Pragmatic Aspects of Religion,” American Anthropologist 68: 1174–191. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/aa.1966.68.5.02a00050
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Orwell, George. 1961. 1984. New York: Signet Classic.
Pengelly, Martin. “Richard Dawkins questions Ahmed Mohamed’s ‘motives’ and sparks backlash.” The Guardian, September 20. http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/sep/20/richard-dawkins-questions-ahmed-mohamed-motive-backlash.
Pike, Sarah M. 2009. “Dark Teens and Born-Again Martyrs: Captivity Narratives After Columbine.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 77: 647–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfp038.
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Selk, Avi. 2015. “Ahmed Mohamed Swept Up, ‘Hoax Bomb’ Charges Swept Away as Irving Teen’s Story Floods Social Media,” Dallas Morning News, September 15. http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/northwest-dallas-county/headlines/20150915-irving-ninth-grader-arrested-after-taking-homemade-clock-to-school.ece.
Selk, Avi. 2015. “Letters demand $15 million, say Irving officials worked to smear Ahmed Mohamed after clock arrest,” Dallas Morning News, November 23. http://irvingblog.dallasnews.com/2015/11/letter-demands-5-million-and-an-apology-for-ahmeds-treatment-over-clock.html.
Wilonsky, Robert. 2015. “Feds investigating Ahmed Mohamed’s ex school district over discrimination, harassment charges,” Dallas Morning News, December 4. http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/12/u-s-attorney-general-justice-department-investigating-treatment-of-ahmed-mohamed.html.
Wilson, Bryan. 1982. Religion in Sociological Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Published
2016-01-15
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Laycock, J. (2016). Who Believed There Was A Bomb and When Did They Believe It? What Ahmed Mohamed’s Clock Says About Belief and Moral Panic. Bulletin for the Study of Religion, 44(4), 40-44. https://doi.org/10.1558/bsor.v44i4.28907
