Ahmed Mohamed, a freshman, was arrested at his high school in Irving, Texas for supposedly bringing a “hoax bomb” to school.  Ahmed claimed that it was really just a clock that he had made at home wanting to show his love for invention.

Ahmed brought the clock to school to impress an engineering teacher, but was told not to show it to any other teachers. The clock made a beeping noise in his English class, and after he showed the clock to the teacher, school administrators notified the police.  Ahmed was then arrested and questioned.

Irving police chief Larry Boyd said in an interview, “Having no other information to go on, and taking into consideration the devices suspicious appearance, and the safety of the students and the staff at McArthur high school, the student was taken into custody for the possession of a hoax bomb.”

This raised an important question: Did the fact of Ahmed’s being Muslim have any influence on the reaction to the clock? Boyd said later in the interview that “Our reaction would have been the same either way. That’s a very suspicious device, and we live in an age where we can’t take things like that to school.” The officers who arrested him were just following standard procedure.

The teachers at Bob Jones seem to have a different opinion on the situation. Mrs. Powell, a 12th grade English teacher, said, “I trust my students enough that I wouldn’t jump to that type of conclusion.” Mr. Mack, a math teacher, said, “I would ask the student first and then check out the clock myself.”

The event has caused a social media uproar from people all across America using the hashtag IStandWithAhmed. President Obama tweeted, “Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House?” Mike Seibert, a NASA scientist, even invited him to the jet propulsion laboratory in California.

Others have continued to argue the situation.  Not all are convinced that Ahmed’s clock was just a clock or even of his love of invention.

Ahmed was asked if he had any words of encouragement for other young inventors, and he responded by saying “Go for it. Don’t let people change who you are.”

Someone in America has already capitalized on the national event by turning it into a seriously questionable Halloween costume.