Ahmed Mohamed, 14, was arrested after he decided to show his cool homemade clock to impress his teacher. Believing it to be a bomb, the teacher called police officers who made their way to the scene and charged Ahmed for bringing a fake bomb to school.
The story of Ahmed quickly made rounds on social media, causing a public uproar. Mainly due to him being brown aka a muslim which led to his arrest.
Many express their sympathy for the poor kid in this image that circulated all over the internet.
The facebook post tells,
“In a NASA t-shirt, this is 9th grader Ahmed Mohamed being arrested at his school after showing a gadget he made TO HIS ENGINEERING TEACHER. It was a clock, but when your name is Ahmed Mohamed and you live in a country ruled by Islamophobia, this is what you get. AWFUL.”
Facebook user Natalie commented, “Poor baby after this experience the next time may be the real deal. This teacher should be fired, clearly she has a bias opinion of her ethnic students.”
“This is an abomination!!!!! Look at this baby’s face. MORTIFIED.” another user commented.
Tony said, “The real terrorists are not Muslims as people are so quick to stereotype individuals. Islam is a religious belief, and in any belief u will have extremist. The real ones wake up everyday put on a uniform and patrol our streets, work in our governments , in positions of power that effect our everyday life. Let’s not forget those who terrorize the urban community too.”
Ahmed quickly gained the attention from big names, such as Mark Zuckerberg, who reached out to him and encouraging his passion in engineering.
Other tech companies chimed in their support for the young engineer.
That wasn’t all. Ahmed was even recognized by.. wait for it…
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!
With all the support pouring in, the 14 year old boy was overwhelmed and tweets a thank you for everyone who stands beside him.
Islamophobia exists in America especially ever since the devastating incident of 9/11. #IStandWithAhmed is now trending as a campaign to battle against the irrational phobia against Muslims.
Here’s a video of Ahmed giving a short speech of the incident.