UpFront

Was Ahmed Mohamed arrested because he is Muslim?

Mehdi Hasan speaks with the 14-year-old student arrested over a homemade clock.


This wouldn't happen to any of my classmates

by Ahmed Mohamed

A clock – that’s all it was. But for 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed from Texas, the simple homemade invention got him arrested when he took it to school. Officials thought Mohamed had a hoax bomb.

Since the world found out about Mohamed’s case, he has had a mass outpouring of public support, with US President Barack Obama inviting him to the White House.

In this online special, Mohamed tells Mehdi Hasan that this happened to him because he is Muslim.

“There is a lot of stereotypes for people who are foreigners and they have…names mainly in Islam,” Mohamed says.

Mohamed also says the flood of support he has received shows that people care. “…Not just because I’m a Muslim boy. For every person who’s different,” Mohamed says. “It’s not just Muslims who go through this…We’re all human in the end.” 

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