Ahmed Mohamed (born 2000 or 2001) is a student of MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas, who was arrested for taking a homemade clock to school. The case sparked debates on racial profiling and Islamophobia with Mohamed getting support from many sources, including US President Barack Obama and Facebook-founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Ahmed Mohamed comes from a Muslim family, and is the son of Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, an immigrant from Sudan who has contested for the Sudanese presidency twice.
Ahmed Mohamed, who was at the time 14 years old and a freshman at MacArthur High School, made a digital clock in his home and brought it to school to show his engineering teacher. His teacher, upon seeing the clock, instructed him to keep the device in his backpack for the rest of the school day. However, the clock's alarm went off while in his English class, and his English teacher requested to see the device. His teacher sent him to the school's office, who called the police. Mohamed was arrested for "possession of a hoax bomb" and was escorted out of MacArthur High School in handcuffs.
Mohamed was never formally charged with any crime, and many of his supporters have speculated that the situation is an example of Islamophobia in the United States. Irving, Texas reportedly has had a long history of Islamophobia and racial profiling.
Mayor Beth Van Duyne defended the actions of the Police and Irvin School District, stating that they were following the procedure set when a potential threat of criminal act is discovered.
Following the situation, Mohamed received support from President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Mark Zuckerberg, with President Obama even inviting him to the White House. The hashtag '#IStandWithAhmed' began trending on Twitter and other social media. Ahmed and his family announced that he was going to the White House for an annual Astronomy Night, in which he would receive the opportunity to meet other aspiring young scientists.
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