Glenn Beck dedicated his television program last night to revealing "the truth" about what really happened when 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed was arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school, insisting that the entire thing was a set-up and part of an "influence operation" by radical Muslims who are waging "civilization jihad" in America.
Beck brought Beth Van Duyne, the mayor of Ahmed’s hometown of Irving, Texas, on to the show to defend the school and police officials who detained the ninth grader. Van Duyne has been a hero to anti-Islam activists ever since she falsely alleged that local Muslim leaders were trying establish Sharia courts, prompting a national fight in which she was openly supported by Beck himself.
Van Dunye was rather circumspect in her comments on Beck's program, insisting mainly that only one side of the story was being reported and complaining that everyone from the media to President Obama were jumping to unfair conclusions.
Beck's other guest, Jim Hanson of the anti-Islam organization Center for Security Policy, was far less reserved in his comments, as he declared unequivocally that everything about the situation "was a P.R. stunt, it was a staged event" designed by Islamic radicals for the purpose of undermining anti-terrorism security protocols.
"They did that to create the exact scenario that played out," Hanson said. "They wanted people to react and they wanted to portray this kid as an innocent victim ... I don't think there is any question he was put up to it by someone else who wanted him to take that in to create this exact scenario. As you mentioned, fear and panic, and then out of that to be able to say, 'Look at him, he's a nice, nerdy little kid,' and that the police overreacted and all these things ... They want a Muslim-privilege exemption to 'see something, say something' and that's what this is about."
