The father of the Texas Muslim teen arrested after bringing his homemade clock to school previous year filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Monday.
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The case was filed in Dallas federal court by Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed “as next friend for Ahmed Mohamed”, according to the Star-Telegram.
The original charge of “possession of a hoax bomb” were eventually dropped but the school suspended Mohamed for three days.
The sorts of people who are often outraged were especially outraged that a Muslim science genius would be arrested for bringing clock to school, even though the clock looked less like an actual clock than it did a potential bomb.
The lawsuit highlights IISD’s alleged history of racial and religious discrimination, including many such incidents that Mohamed himself experienced involving classmates and teachers while he was a student in the school district.
A law firm representing Ahmed Mohamed sent letters in November of past year demanding $10 million from the city of Irving and $5 million from the Irving Independent School District.
The suit also says the state of Texas, including the school district, “has a history of discrimination against Muslims in Texas curriculum and schools”.
Mohamed moved to Qatar with his family after the incident, but he returned to the us this summer to complete internships at several tech companies, according to Fox4. Here’s what to know about his story so far.
The family made a social visit to the U.S.in late June but Ahmed is expected to return to Qatar to continue his education at a private school. When he started middle school, Ahmed joined the robotics club and often brought home-made “gadgets” to school.
He and his family moved to Qatar following the arrest and subsequent outcry, but they came back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area for the summer.
“As with any legal matter of this nature, attorneys for the school district will review the filing and respond as appropriate”, the school district stated.
The lawsuit alleges a violation of Ahmed’s rights both by the school and the police department that held an interrogation of the teenager without his parents present. After receiving so much publicity because of the incident, the Mohameds said they were being threatened with violence and chose to move to Qatar. This suit is not related to that previous threat, however, and does not specify an amount that Mohamed is seeking. Ahmed said at a press conference, according to KTVT-TV.
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“So for Ahmed Mohamed, will we be faithful to our American principles of justice and equality?”
