Muslim Student Handcuffed Because Of Harmless Science Project

A 14-year-old student in Irving Texas was arrested after he showed up to school and provided a clock that he created to his science teachers. The science teachers assumed this was a bomb or could be a bomb. They called authorities and he was promptly arrested.

Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian (The Point) hosts of The Young Turks discuss. When will we not have to deal with innocent students not having to be accosted like this? Let us know in the comments.

“On Sunday, 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed built a homemade clock. It wasn't especially difficult for him, and the result wasn't polished — it looked like a mess of wires and circuitry. He was still adjusting to life as a high schooler, and he wanted to bring in something cool to show his teachers.

Mohamed eagerly showed several teachers the clock and explained what it was, but he didn't get the congratulations he was expecting. Instead, he left school in handcuffs.

Young Mohamed's story has drawn accusations of racism and Islamophobia, and many — scientists, technologists and members of the general public alike — are expressing shock and outrage. But as with any incident of discrimination, especially in science, the truth is that we aren't really shocked. And that's the worst part.”

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The Young Turks September 16, 2015 Hour 1

Muslim Student Handcuffed Because Of Harmless Science Project

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Young Turk (n), 1. Young progressive or insurgent member of an institution, movement, or political party. 2. Young person who rebels against authority or societal expectations. (American Heritage Dictionary)

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[RoninDave]

Ahmed's clock is the bomb, not a bomb, silly Texans! Isn't science banned in Texas anyway?

[TheErebusGaming]

Holy hell... HO-LY HELL.

How utterly moronic do you have to be to arrest that kid? Pathetic.

[badman]

One thing I noticed about this whole thing is the initial reaction of the principle and the cops. They didn't evacuate the school as you would normally do if there was a bomb. They didn't separate themselves from him and the "bomb" and instead made him wait with it in the principle's office while the police arrived. And after they arrived, they asked him questions about what he had made rather than calling in a bomb disposal squad to see if it actually was a threat. It seems like they knew it wasn't a bomb yet arrested him anyway to embarrass him and feed into their racial narrative.

[curiosity]

I was happy to see Obama invited this young inventor to the White House! Perfect!

[sirnomnoms]

I don't think its that hard to tell the difference between a clock and a bomb. But then again it's Texas so all logic and rational thought is thrown out the window.

[thatoneguy-zbbt]

They never thought it was a bomb. If they did they would evacuate the school and call in a bomb squad.

[RodHot]

Obviously those science teachers are not qualified to do their jobs and should be fired immediately.

[ladyshadowtimes]

Its sad and makes me angry because these are supposed to be educated people.

[darylpatalinghug]

I read a comment on Youtube that read:

"I said: it's sad they thought that kid has a bomb.
She said: They didn't think he had a bomb.
I said: Yes, they thought he made a bomb and even called the police.
She said: They just wanted to humiliate a little Muslim, African boy. They didn't think he had a bomb.
I said: Don't be a conspiracist. They might be a little prejudiced, but I'm sure they thought he had a bomb.
She said: Ok... But they didn't evacuate the school, like you do when there's a bomb. They didn't call a bomb squad - like you do when there's a bomb. They didn't get as far away from him as possible - like you do when there's a bomb. Then they put him and the clock in an office - not like you do when there's a bomb. Then they waited with him for the police to arrive. Then they put the clock in the same car as the police. Then they took pictures of it.
I said: Damn. They never thought he had a bomb."

[LeonardGreenpaw]

Woah this story was massively incorrect. He showed it to his science teacher and the science teacher said "Thats nice but dont show it to any other teacher, just keep it in your bag"
But it started beeping in english class, and the english teacher demanded to see it, it was the english teacher who thought it was a bomb

Geez guys

[TerryPiper]

If it was really suspected to be a bomb, Why were they all in the same room with said bomb, questioning a suspect? No chance the "bomb" would go off? And the science teacher didnt know what project he was working on? And why tell him to put it back in his bag and walk around the school until it was discovered in another class. If it was a bomb, why wasnt the school evacuated?

[SandroSegadora]

So I researched this and apparently his engineering teacher knew about it and told him not to show it to anyone else cus they might think it's a bomb. Well WTF ??? Why didn't he/she (the teacher) clear up the confusion right away if they knew what it was.

Here is the picture of the "clock"

[lizatanzawa]

OH NO!!!! OF COURSE IT'S TEXAS!!!! We're on the verge of out-stupiding

[mje]

If they really thought a bomb was in the school, why weren’t all of the children evacuated from the school immediately?

[amitganguli]

The SCIENCE teacher knew and appreciated it, it was the ENGLISH teacher.

[linuxrobotgeek]

The fact that he's getting invites by MIT, Google, Facebook, and others have shown that he won the day. I hope he leaves that city behind and goes to a place where he will be welcomed. This is my advice to future engineers: don't let this story discourage you.

[shreedhar]

When this story started, I was eating my "dinner" sitting alone in my apartment, thinking about how this is going to be just one of those that will leave me even more depressed. But by the end of the story, I was left cheering for the scientific community and for all those who came together to show support for the kid. I was literally slapping my palm on the kitchen table in pure joy for the kid. Knowing that he has got all these people behind him is a mighty push to continue on doing what he is doing. Makes me feel a little more hopeful about myself too, in an odd kind of way. I just moved to a state that I know no one in and have been living in this apartment for a good week and a half now and have no one to hang out with or talk to after work. This sort of motivates me a little to try and change things around, go and check out some meetups here, go to a bar to talk and hopefully, not have shallow small talk with people. Maybe, there is a few like me around here. Hmm...

[njintau]

"Those science teacher should've known better"
yeah...but this is Texas...

[jxsilicon]

This kid is getting offers from everywhere and pretty much all the top ranked schools.Presidential invites, celebrities swarming. I should have built a suitcase clock when I was in school.

[buddyparrot]

He didn't build ANYTHING! he put a clock, in a box, let the wires hang out so it looked, A This was a while ago, so I don't remember all the details, but as I recall, he acted like an asshole, and deserved what he got.