Bill Maher Blasts Liberal Hypocrisy In Arrest Of 14-Year-Old Ahmed Mohamed


It seems that a simple homemade clock and a 14-year-old boy are now the face of the ongoing debate that is brilliantly called Islamophobia. You know you’ve struck a chord when Bill Maher chimes in on the subject.

"Screen Grab From Video"
Screen grab from video

It all started when 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed was detained, then arrested on Sept. 14 of this month, after bringing a homemade alarm clock to his Irving, Texas, high school. According to CNN, Ahmed said:

“I built the clock to impress my teacher but when I showed it to her, she thought it was a threat to her. It was really sad that she took the wrong impression of it.”

Ahmed’s story has drawn support from President Obama to Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. So when Bill Maher brought the story up on his show, “Real Time With Bill Maher” this past Friday, it really was no surprise.

While I do agree with Bill on many subjects, I found myself wondering if Ahmed’s story was really a good choice for Bill to feature, especially with his terse, but funny as usual opening in which he said:

“There was a big story this week about a 14-year-old Muslim-American teenager in Texas who built a clock. He’s a science kid and that’s great. And the people of the school thought it might be a bomb. Perhaps because it looks exactly like a  f**king bomb.”

Now in today’s social atmosphere that is very sensitive to terrorist attacks from many different types of threats, at first glance, it does look kind of suspicious. Immediately after though, Bill said:

“And look, this kid deserves an apology, no doubt about it. They were wrong. But could we have a little perspective about this? Did the teacher really do the wrong thing?”

At this point the answer to his question depends on who you believe. It seems one of Bill’s guests, Mark Cuban, actually spoke with Ahmed. So with a little firsthand insight, he told Bill that Ahmed had taken the clock to numerous classes with no issues. It wasn’t until later in the day that a specific teacher reported the clock.

If that is the case, one has to wonder why the other teachers did not view Ahmed’s clock as suspicious. What took so long? Was this a case of one teacher being a little Islamophobic towards Ahmed? Did Ahmed know this would cause a scare and get him some attention?

All questions that are getting the full treatment from both sides. Not to be outdone though, perhaps the best response came from another one of Bill’s guest, Chris Matthews. Chris said:

“You know what the problem in this country [is], one of the problems we’ve got, is this willingness to take sides in a fight like this without knowing what the hell happened. And it’s amazing, everybody goes right to their battle stations. I’m with the minority, the minority’s right, those teachers are wrong. How do you know? I wasn’t there, you weren’t there. I don’t know. How do you know? Everybody’s an expert, it’s all cartoon. Everything’s a f**king cartoon.”


Well said, Chris. Let’s face it, if you don’t know that targeting a 14-year-old kid because of his skin or religious preference is wrong, something is wrong with you. But does Bill Maher have a point? Perspective counts for a lot. Should teachers report suspicious activities? Yes. Did the cops overreact after Ahmed told them it was just a clock? Yes. Will certain people use this as a scare tactic to promote more fear and hate? You bet.

Check out the clip, below:

Featured image via YouTube screen capture

Kristie is 22-years-old and resides in Nashville, TN. While reading is a passion, she also has a passion for writing. Reporting on social issues such as LGBT rights, racial injustices, and religious intolerance, she also has a vested interest in the current political climate in America.