6 Powerful People Have Taken a Stand for Ahmed Mohamed
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By now, you might have heard about Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old student who was suspended and arrested on Monday after school officials in Irving, Texas, suspected him of making a hoax bomb—which was actually just a homemade clock that the aspiring engineer made the night before.
Ahmed made the device in an effort to display his talents as an inventor. He joined the robotics club in middle school and makes radios and repairs go-karts as a hobby in his spare time, as Dallas News reported. But when the device made a beeping sound in one of his classes, he showed the teacher the clock—and by sixth period, he was escorted to a room where four police officers and the principal were waiting to interrogate him.
"Yup. That’s who I thought it was," one officer reportedly remarked when Ahmed was brought into the room. The principal also allegedly threatened to expel the student if he did not provide a written statement, and in a statement released on Monday, the school declined to provide additional information about the circumstances that led to the student's arrest.
"Unfortunately, the information that has been made public to this point is very unbalanced," Irving Independent School District wrote. "We would provide additional factual information about the situation; however, we feel it’s important to protect the student’s right to privacy and we will abide by FERPA, the federal law that protects student information."
Though the story of Ahmed's arrest has troubled many who argue that the student was profiled, accused of making a bomb because of the color of his skin, his Muslim background, and distinctly Muslim name, the response to his story has been nothing short of inspiring. In less than one day, more than 370,000 people have Tweeted their support for Ahmed, and that number has been steadily rising.
Among those voicing their support are scientists, politicians, activists, and entrepreneurs.
