A new Twitter phenomenon, #IStandWithAhmed becomes Internet sensation after US Muslim student was arrested for building digital clock that was mistaken for a bomb. The 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed was taken into custody and interrogated for hours because police officers were convinced that the device he has built was dangerous.
Ahmed Mohamed is a student at MacArthur High School. He is very passionate about science projects, so he built his own prototype of digital clock to impress his teacher. The engineering teacher was indeed taken aback by Mohamed’s invention and suggested him not to show the clock to anyone.
Unfortunately, the clock’s alarm went off during the English class forcing the student to take his invention out of the school bag. The English teacher was not convinced that the system was a digital clock and decided to call the police. Ahmed was arrested and taken to an interrogatory room where five officers asked him questions about the device.
Mohamed told them the exact story and reassured them that the device was nothing but a digital clock, but authorities were still not convinced. They claim the watch could easily pass for a bomb that could be left in public toilets and classrooms.
Ahmed’s family has posted a photo of the 14-year-old boy as he was being handcuffed and taken away by police officers. The image captured everyone’s attention on the Internet with numerous supportive messaged being posted for Ahmed.
A special group was created on Twitter with the hashtag #IStandWithAhmed to prove authorities that many Internet users consider Ahmed a victim of the US system. The most powerful voices are the ones that come from former students of the MacArthur High School. They claim teachers and students belonging to this educational institution should get accustomed with ethnic diversity and let students freely express themselves.
Other students criticized the principal’s decision to suspend Ahmed for three days. The latter claims he has suspended Ahmed because he refused to provide additional explanations in relation to how the clock was build and there is still much mystery surrounding his version of the story. Ahmed’s supporters, on the other hand, think school should encourage talented students instead of punishing them for things that they did not do.
The news triggered the immediate response of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. They described Ahmed as a very bright kid and confessed that the boy wouldn’t have been accused if his name had not been Ahmed Mohamed.
Image source: www.twimg.com
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