Update II, 25 November:

Folks, Dawkins has done it again. And he has really outdone himself this time.

It was not enough for the anti-religious fundamentalist to be a leading voice in the Ahmed Mohamed conspiracy theory movement; he needed to go the extra mile and compare the 14-year-old Muslim American science buff to — you guessed it — ISIS.

"But he's only a kid." Yes, a "kid" old enough to sue for $15M those whom he hoaxed. And how old is this "kid"? https://t.co/kjzxGDs5Az — Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) November 24, 2015

He just compared Ahmed Mohamed to a child executioner. pic.twitter.com/hiLiRk2ZQD — Imraan Siddiqi (@imraansiddiqi) November 24, 2015

After facing backlash, Dawkins retracted a bit, and insisted he only meant to compare Mohamed’s age to the age of a child ISIS fighter. It was an honest unintended mistake, he assures us!

Update I, 24 November:

More than two months later, Richard Dawkins remains a committed Clock Kid Truther.

Don't call him "clock boy" since he never made a clock. Hoax Boy, having hoaxed his way into the White House, now wants $15M in addition! — Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) November 24, 2015

Original, 20 September:

Wake up sheeple!

The hallowed Richard Dawkins has exposed the Truth to all of us ignorami: Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old science buff and American Muslim of Sudanese descent who was arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school to show off to his teachers, may have actually wanted to be arrested. This could all be part of an elaborate (Muslim) conspiracy, Dawkins assures us.

Dawkins, a self-professed “anti-theist” who maintains religion is the “root of all evil”—that is to say an anti-religious fundamentalist—took to Twitter to condemn the young boy for having the temerity to say he “invented” a clock.

“Disassembling & reassembling is great. But you shouldn’t then claim it was your ‘invention’,” Dawkins avers. Ahmed “disassembled & reassembled a clock (which is fine) & then claimed it was his ‘invention’ (which is fraud),” Dawkins adds. He subsequently reiterates the charge of “fraud.”

After being called out for accusing a pubescent child of fraud, Dawkins graciously acknowledges “OK, fraudulent claiming of an ‘invention’ is not heinous.” The 74-year-old evolutionary biologist still however proceeds to rail against the fledgling engineer 60 years young than him.

Dawkins promptly uses scare quotes to refer to the 14-year-old child as a “kid,” calling into doubt the sincerity of his youth.

@andycrox Many took it seriously (myself included). With the result that this "kid" is now doing very nicely, invite to White House etc. — Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) September 20, 2015

He then implies the young boy’s clock “looks like [a] hoax,” because Ahmed may have used a preexisting device to make it.

If the reassembled components did something more than the original clock, that’s creative. If not, it looks like hoax http://t.co/bBcaWoJpbd — Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) September 20, 2015

“Assembling clock from bought components is fine. Taking clock out of its case to make it look as if he built it is not fine. Which is true?” Dawkins questions. (How dare a 14-year-old not build a clock from scratch! Something larger and more iniquitous must clearly be afoot!)

Dawkins then posts a video titled “Ahmed Mohammed Clock is a FRAUD,” commenting “If this is true, what was his motive?” and adding that Ahmed may have “wanted the police to arrest him.”

If this is true, what was his motive? Whether or not he wanted the police to arrest him, they shouldn’t have done so https://t.co/LtOFAAmVxK — Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) September 20, 2015

When asked “what do you think Ahmed’s motives were?” Dawkins replies “Possibly wanted to be arrested? Police played into his hands? Anyway, now invited to White House, crowdfunded etc.”

@HarryStopes I don't know. Possibly wanted to be arrested? Police played into his hands? Anyway, now invited to White House, crowdfunded etc — Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) September 20, 2015

In other words, Dawkins speculates the 14-year-old boy may have planned this, because Ahmed doubtless knew he would get invited to the White House—and not thrown in prison—in response, no question.

Going out on an precarious limb for a moment, Dawkins proceeds to dabble in the orientalist, suggesting that Ahmed Mohamed—who is American and speaks fluent English—may not “know the meaning of ‘invention'”—”although his English seems good,” Dawkins recognizes.

I agree, although his English seems good, it's possible he doesn't know the meaning of "invention". And he should NOT have been arrested. — Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) September 20, 2015

Later, Dawkins laments he felt he had been a “fool” for “jump[ing] on the bandwagon.”

@IOWRobert Me too. I jumped on the bandwagon myself and feel a fool for it. — Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) September 20, 2015

Dawkins does concede that Ahmed “should most certainly NOT have been arrested, handcuffed etc.,” and he admits that, if the young boy had been white, “he would never have been arrested.”

“But his motives remain questionable” Dawkins still insists, referring to Ahmed.

@I_Love_Atheism @Haku_81 True, Johnny Smith would not have been arrested & Ahmed should NOT have been. But his motives remain questionable. — Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) September 20, 2015

In doing so, Dawkins has revealed himself to be a whole new breed of conspiracy theorist: The Ahmed Mohamed Truther.

Like 9/11 Truthers—who claim the US and/or Israeli governments planned the September 11 attacks—or Sandy Hook Truthers—who insist the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a conspiracy—or a whole slew of other conspiracy-minded folks who choose the truthiness appellation, Dawkins the Clock Kid Truther is on to something the rest of us brainwashed sheeple can’t possibly imagine!

And don’t worry, Dawkins’ conspiracy has been corroborated by far-right conspiracy theorist kingpin Alex Jones’ Infowars, so we know it’s true!

Dawkins is in good company.

In all seriousness, what this incident truly exposes is that Dawkins is so incapable of admitting that deep-seated bigotry exists against Muslims and people of color racialized as Muslims (such as Desi Sikhs and Hindus, who are sometimes attacked by Islamophobic extremists, fascists, and white supremacists) that he has to fabricate absurd conspiracies in order to explain it all away.

Richard Dawkins has often come under fire on Twitter for making outlandish anti-Muslim, misogynist, and racist comments, and for suggesting that the real victims of the surveillance state and the draconian War on Terror are rich and famous white pundits like him, who have their precious little jars of honey confiscated by the Feds—certainly not the entire families wiped out in Western-backed wars or the children eviscerated in US drone strikes.

Acts like these demonstrate just how correct neuroscientist Dean Burnett was in the flow chart he created illustrating when we should listen to Dawkins, and when we should ignore him.