A Texas ninth grader who also happens to be Muslim was arrested and subsequently suspended after bringing a homemade clock to school.
School administrators at MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas, believed the homemade clock Ahmed Mohamed, 14, brought to school was a bomb. They called the police, who then handcuffed Mohamed and led him out of school.
Mohamed, known as a tinkerer who has made his own radios and repairs his own go-kart, was then punished with a three-day suspension.
“He just wants to invent good things for mankind,” said the boy’s father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, a Sudanese immigrant. “But because his name is Mohamed and because of Sept. 11, I think my son got mistreated.”
The story has since gone viral, as has the hashtag #IStandwithAhmed.
The Dallas Morning News reported that Mohamed’s English teacher reported him to school administrators after the clock beeped during class. According to Mohamed, he repeatedly said it was nothing but a clock and that he wanted to impress his teachers, but no one believed him.
The Council on America-Islamic Relations is investigating the incident for anti-Muslim bigotry.
Thank you for your support! I really didn’t think people would care about a muslim boy. #Thankyouforstandingwithme #IStandWithAhmed
— Ahmed Mohamed (@IStandWithAhmed) September 16, 2015
