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Friday, Mar 8, 2013 9:37 PM UTC

Mother charged after sending her son, Jihad, to school wearing shirt that says “I am a bomb”

The back of the boy's shirt reads "Jihad, born on 11 September”

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Topics: Jihad, September 11, France, Parenting, Crime, bomb, 9/11,

Mother charged after sending her son, Jihad, to school wearing shirt that says “I am a bomb”

A French woman, Bouchra Bagour, gave birth to her son, Jihad, on Sept. 11, the same day that terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center. Fast-forward to three years later: Bagour, 35, sent her son to nursery school in a shirt that said “I am a bomb” on the front and “Jihad, born on 11 September” on the back.

The shirt was disturbing enough that the boy’s teacher alerted authorities, and Bagour, along with her brother who bought Jihad the shirt, are being charged with “glorifying crime.”

But Bagour thought the shirt would “make people laugh,” and her brother insists that “It’s the day (of) his birth I wanted to highlight, not the year,” the BBC reports. Bagour attempted to defend herself, saying, “We were never trying to claim responsibility for this thing or defend a cause.”

Prosecutors are hoping to fine them more than $5,000, collectively. “Idiocy is often the best alibi to hide the real intentions. The most scandalous thing is that they’ve used and manipulated a three-year-old child to voluntarily convey the words of a terrorist,” lawyer Claude Avril told Sky News.

The trial will conclude on April 10.

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com. More Prachi Gupta.

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