UK boy, 4, probed for mispronouncing ‘cucumber’
Child from 'Asian' family referred to counterterror authorities after calling the vegetable a 'cooker bomb'
A four-year-old boy in Britain was referred to the nation’s counterterrorism authorities after reportedly mispronouncing the word “cucumber” as “cooker bomb.”
The recent incident, reported by BBC Asian Network and The Telegraph, highlights how new laws meant to alert authorities to radicalization in Britain’s Muslim community risk creating an atmosphere of fear of that community.
The child’s preschool, located in the town of Luton in Bedfordshire, north of London, referred him to the Home Office’s “Prevent” program, drawn up in recent years to help authorities intervene when children are “being drawn into terrorism.”
The family, which is not identified by name, was described by British media as “Asian.”
The child’s teachers made the referral after the boy drew a cucumber and called it a “cooker bomb,” according to the boy’s mother. According to the BBC, the case was referred to police and social services, who ultimately decided it did not merit any official action.
The mother was quoted as saying that she feared her children would be taken away from her over the terrorism inquiry.
Under the UK’s Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, government workers, including teachers, are required by law to report suspicions of radicalization among British youth. According to The Telegraph, some 2,000 children under 15 were the subject of such referrals from 2012 to 2015.