Source: The Guardian
The family of a Muslim boy who was arrested after bringing a homemade clock to school filed a federal lawsuit on Monday against Texas school officials and others, saying the incident violated the 14-year-old boy’s civil rights, prompted death threats and forced them to leave the United States.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Ahmed Mohamed, who was arrested at his suburban Dallas high school in September and charged with having a hoax bomb. He says he brought the homemade digital clock to school to show his English teacher.
Ahmed showed off the clock, made out of a plastic pencil box and electrical wire and other hardware salvaged from his parents’ garage, on Monday during a news conference with his parents and attorneys.
Irving police later dropped the charge, but he was still suspended for three days. He never returned to the school; his family opted to have him take classes elsewhere.
The lawsuit names Irving independent school district, the city of Irving and the school’s principal, and asks a jury to determine the damages. In November, the family asked the district and city to pay $15m or else face a suit. The district spokeswoman Lesley Weaver said in a statement Monday that attorneys for the district would review the suit and determine a course of action.
“Irving ISD continues to deny violating the student’s rights and will respond to claims in accordance with court rules,” she said, adding that school officials for now would have no further comment.
The Mohamed family questioned whether the boy was mistreated due to his religion but the district has denied the claim.
The family has since moved to Qatar, citing threats and a scholarship offered to Ahmed in the Persian Gulf country. Ahmed moved back to the US last month for the summer to visit family and friends, and will do some travelling around the country, but will return to Qatar next month to start 10th grade at Qatar Academy, a private school in Doha.
“For the safety of my family, I have to go back to Qatar, because right now it’s not very safe for my family or for anyone who’s a minority,” Ahmed said during Monday’s news conference.
While in Texas, Ahmed said, he had to wear a hat, sunglasses and a hoodie. “I can’t walk out of the house without being covered up because I might get shot, because that happens here,” he said.
The teen’s parents, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed and Muna Ibrahim, have not found work yet in Qatar, so the family of eight is living in government housing and on food vouchers.
Categories: America, Discrimination, Islamophobia, The Muslim Times, USA