Texas teenager Ahmed Mohamed's school had him arrested yesterday after he showed a teacher a home made clock he had built. The 14-year-old with a talent for science was taken out of school in handcuffs after his English teacher mistook his latest invention for a bomb.
“They were like, ‘So you tried to make a bomb?’” Mohamed said, according to The Dallas Morning News. “I told them no, I was trying to make a clock.”
His parents say he was targeted because he's Muslim. The outpouring of solidarity with Mohamed has been all over Twitter this morning, including from President Barack Obama:
And, on Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg:
People were saddened that a kid who clearly loves science (he was wearing a NASA t-shirt when he was arrested, and built the clock outside of school) was persecuted, with many sensing Islamophobic undertones behind his arrest.
#IStandWithAhmed was trending worldwide this morning, as several :
Tech entrepreneur Anil Dash was one of the first people spreading the word about Mohamed's arrest:
He then set up a google form to collect offers of support from the tech community online:
And the support from scientists, engineers, science writers and hackers is still coming in:
Some pointed out that this is a pretty clear example of racial profiling:
#IStandWithAhmed, because what could be more American than a son of immigrants who's going to be a genius inventor someday?
— Ty Black (@TyBlackATTACK) September 16, 2015
#IStandWithAhmed theres no "broader explanation" needed for a clock, they mistook a kid for a terrorist bc of islamophobic beliefs they have
— bl*ge (@THECAROLDANVERS) September 16, 2015
Others called on NASA to publicly show some support for Mohamed:
https://twitter.com/elloecho/status/644145769591795712
Mohamed has been suspended from school. His family created their own Twitter account this morning, @IStandWithAhmed, where Ahmed shared his own message of gratitude:
Related: Texas police arrest Muslim high school inventor for building a clock