Ahmed Mohamed — the 14-year-old Muslim student who was arrested Monday for bringing a homemade clock to his suburban Dallas high school, but was not charged — thought his story would go untold.
“I feel really well after because before I didn’t think I was going to get any support because I’m a Muslim boy,” Ahmed told “All In with Chris Hayes” on Wednesday night. “So I thought I was going to be another victim of injustice.”
Ahmed said he built the clock and brought it to MacArthur High School because he wanted “to impress them with something simple.”
But the situation quickly turned into anything but simple. He told host Chris Hayes that the situation reminded of when he was called a terrorist by fellow middle school students.
“I felt like a criminal, I felt like a terrorist. I felt like all the names I was called,” Ahmed said. “In middle school, I was called a terrorist, called a bomb maker, just because of my race. And my religion.”
He is Sudanese American.
But the teenager said his online supporters sent a very clear message.
“But thanks to all my supporters on social media, I got this far thanks to you guys,” he told MSNBC. “I see it as a way of people sending a message to the rest of world that just because something happens to you because of who you are, no matter what you do, people will always have your back.”
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, an astrophysicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, joined at the end of “All In” to repeat her invitation (originally on Twitter) for Ahmed to visit the university. She said her former advisers at Harvard College were also interested in hosting the teenager for a visit.
“You are the kind of student we want at MIT and Harvard,” she told Ahmed.
Watch the full interview, from MSNBC, below:
Yeah…that first sentence? Problematic.
It wasn’t a “hoax device”. It was a homemade clock - it was stated to be a homemade clock from the beginning. Don’t add to the foolishness around this event, please.
the outcome of this ridiculous story couldn’t be better… the kid gets invites from the white house, mit, harvard, facebook; nasa wants to give him a tour…
besides, he’s so freaking adorable – and epitomizes the teenage nerd… the glasses, the haircut, the lanky frame … but best of all is the NASA t-shirt he was wearing when he was handcuffed and taken in for questioning. he was just missing braces… lol
If there ever was a legitimate use of GoFundMe, I think an Ahmed Mohamed college fund would be it.
He’s already been offered an internship at a couple of places, and I suspect at least one of those companies will drop some cash into his college fund.
He got an invite to MIT; something tells me they wouldn’t do that unless they had some idea about offering at least partial scholarship.
The ones I am angriest at over this are his teacher and principal. Ignorance personified. Although I have plenty of disdain for the cops in this case too (who I understand from reading last night may also have violated his 5th and 6th Amendment rights by interrogating him before AND after he requested to speak to his parents…they said no)
to the idiot Police Chief of Irving TX : YES you DO bring a clock to school that you assembled yourself… what the hell do you think a kid does in school?
study the bible and accept creationism as science?