14-year old Muslim American student, of Sudanese origin, Ahmed Mohamed was arrested and suspended this week after inventing a clock and bringing it to his school in Texas because it was suspected to be a bomb.
Although the charges were quickly dropped and Mohamed was released Wednesday, the incident prompted Amneh Jafari, a 23-year-old psychology student in Texas, to start the hashtag #IStandWithAhmed just to raise awareness in her area about Islamophobia and its related issues.
Little did she know at the time, the hashtag ended up attracting not only nationwide outrage and support for the unjustly treated teen, but also attracting the support from the entire world. With nearly 1 million tweets in just 24 hours, Jafari's simple idea almost broke the Internet.
Not only did the whole world stand up in support of the budding young genius, he also received a variety of invitations from NASA scientists, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and even U.S. President Barack Obama .
For Twitter users in the Middle East and Arab World however, the topic of Islamophobia hit especially close to home, which caused the hashtag to be a top trending topic.
Here are 15 tweets that perfectly responded to the young Muslim who simply told the world after he was released: “Don’t let people change who you are.”
1. Bombs don't look like clocks
2. More than just prejudice
3. The power of social media
"The Internet is a parallel world, not a hypothetical one! This kid was wrongfully accused, but the Internet's powerful influence made Obama invite him over."
4. Problem disguised as opportunity
"Ahmed is not the most famous Muslim student in America!! Thanks to his teacher who called him a "terrorist"."
5. This is TOTALLY how Ahmed should go back to school
6. Double standards, anyone?
"A non-Muslim kid invents a nuclear meltdown reactor, got supported.. A Muslim kid invented a clock, was arrested with a terrorism charge."
7. More double standards?
"On the right is an American who killed 9 African Americans and is gently arrested and on the left is a Sudanese Muslim student who is accused of terrorism for building a clock."
8. This is what Muslims actually do
"Ahmed's father found all of the media's cameras in front of his house.. then he approached them with pizza boxes! Arab generosity never dies."
9. Impressing the world
10. Children's curiosity should be rewarded
11. Is this the new standard now?
12. Logic thrown out the window
13. A good cause can break the Internet
"The clock that the Muslim kid Ahmed Mohamed invented wasn't a "bomb" but it did "blow up" social media in his support!"
14. One story can inspire millions
"We have millions like Ahmed.. Don't hide your potential and dreams as the world can fit them."