Photo: Getty

Islamophobia and terror-angst have gotten so bad in Europe that the classroom doodles of a 4-year-old are now potential red flags for jihadi radicalization.

The BBC reports that a very young student in Luton, England was referred to local police after his teachers saw the above drawing of a stick figure cutting up a cucumber:



Staff in Luton told the child’s mother they believed he was saying “cooker bomb” instead of “cucumber”.

Personally I think the drawing is very good and very cool, and have a hard time understanding how “cucumber” could be misconstrued as “cooker bomb,” even taking into account a British accent and the various possible speech impediments a pre-schooler could possess. Even harder to understand is why a little boy’s teachers wouldn’t strive to be absolutely sure he was describing a violent terror bombing—rather than a vegetable—before calling the government for deprogramming.

The BBC notes that “Teachers and public service workers have a legal obligation to report any concerns of extremist behaviour to the authorities since July,” which frankly sounds like exactly the kind of policy that winds up ensnaring innocent 4-year-olds and their terrified parents.