Justice

#IStandWithAhmed Image Sums up America's Irrational Islamophobia

September 16th 2015

The internet is outraged over the story of Ahmed Mohamed, a 14-year-old student at MacArthur High in Irving, Texas, who was arrested after he brought a homemade clock to school on Monday.


Ahmed had hoped to impress his teachers, but instead, he was disciplined for having a suspicious device, according to a statement from the school. After Ahmed was handcuffed, he was taken to juvenile detention before being returned home to his parents' house. Now, people are questioning why Ahmed can be accused of creating a bomb and then subsequently arrested, while other children in Texas can carry guns in public. The basis of this hypocrisy, as many are calling out, seems to be race.

According to the Independent, as the hashtag #IStandWithAhmed started to trend, a Pakistani blogger tweeted two images to juxtapose the real problem that Islamophobia presents Muslim Americans, particularly in the case of Ahmed. The first image showed how the Muslim teen was treated compared to two white children also in Texas who stood in public, smiling and posing with rifles at an "open carry" protest back in 2014.

In response, others began to voice their disdain for how Ahmed was treated, comparing the treatment of the school and police.

There has been a stream of encouragement for Ahmed on social media, and even President Barack Obama invited the student to bring his clock to the White House.

Here are other ways the internet is speaking out:

 

A photo posted by Naseem Beauchman (@doctornas) on

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