Many express outrage over high school freshman’s clock being mistaken for bomb

Ahmed Mohamed, 14, is a freshman at MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas. His homemade clock was mistaken for a bomb. School officials questioned Ahmed, and contacted the police, who arrested, detained, and questioned him. He was later released to his parents.

Although Ahmed was released, many expressed outrage on social media about the situation, and took to posts with #IStandWithAhmed.

The Dallas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations claimed Ahmed was targeted because of his race and religion.

“I think this wouldn’t even be a question if his name wasn’t Ahmed Mohamed,” said Alia Salem, who is the executive director of CAIR’s North Texas chapter.

On CAIR’s website, the matter is referred to as being part of “anti-Islam incidents in Texas.”

Irving police chief Larry Boyd spoke of the factors of the arrest, and also mentioned his “outstanding relationship” with the Muslim community:

There were those who did not see it as an issue of safety though, but rather that the school was trying to stifle Ahmed and resorting to profiling.  Many took to the school’s Facebook page to post their strong words about the incident.

More high profile figures saw the situation in such a light as well. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest claimed “it is clear some of Ahmed’s teachers failed him.”

Hillary Clinton also tweeted about the matter.

Sally Kohn, CNN commentator, has been tweeting about the issue all day. Certain tweets claimed no one would have “blinked” about a “white kid,” and blamed the “right-wing” for his arrest.

As a result of the incident, Ahmed has been invited to the White House, to meet Mark Zuckerburg of Facebook, and to go to the Google Science Fair. CheapAir.com is also paying for Ahmed to visit the NASA center of his choice, where has has been invited.