Ahmed Mohamed: Clockmaking Student Was Suspended Multiple Times

Ahmed Mohamed, the clockmaking student President Obama invited to the White House, could have become “the head of a gang” just as easily as he could have been a budding engineer, according to a teacher at Sam Houston Middle School.

Earlier this month, Ahmed Mohamed got into trouble for taking a homemade clock that resembled a bomb to school. The Texas teenager was sent to the principal’s office and the police were called to investigate the incident. He was ultimately led out of school by the law enforcement officer, and allegations of Islamophobia were quickly levied against MacArthur High School.

“He was a weird little kid,” Ralph Kubiak, a teacher who formerly taught Mohamed, said during an interview with the Dallas Morning News. “He’s one of those that could either be CEO of a company or head of a gang.”

‘Severely Traumatized’ Clock Kid Ahmed Mohamed Will Go To Qatar For Some Reason: http://t.co/9V6e9udZtM pic.twitter.com/5p7NmBzpAN

— The Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 29, 2015

Controversy about the Mohamed clock swirled on for days and was renewed a week after the incident, when it was discovered the clock was likely not an invention by the team but a deconstructed and then reconstructed store-bought clock.

Mohamed’s issues with authority figures began long before the clockmaking terrorism concerns arose, MSN reports. Ahmed reportedly accrued “weeks” of suspensions while attending Sam Houston Middle School. When the teen brought a homemade remote control to school he reportedly used it to turn off a projector in the classroom and was sent to the principal’s office for the prank. Once in front of the building administrator, Mohamed cited his First Amendment rights as a defense.

When the clockmaking teen arrived at the Texas school, he reportedly knew little English. The boy allegedly caused trouble at the school and claimed anti-Muslim “bullying” by his peers, provoking an investigation into the claims by the district.

Ahmed claimed other students called him “ISIS boy” and “bacon boy” and alleged that teachers violated his rights by not permitting him to pray in school. Prior to bringing the clock to school, which his teacher felt resembled a bomb, Mohamed had reportedly brought in some of his other “inventions” without incident.

Before Clock Incident Made Him a Celebrity, Ahmed Mohamed ‘Racked Up Weeks of S… http://t.co/y3ECX45iM3 via @theblaze

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Although the details of student discipline are confidential, Ahmed Mohamed’s disciplinary record at Sam Houston Middle School reportedly shows a series of complaints by staff.

Anthony Bond, a family friend, said one of Mohamed’s earliest suspensions stemmed from an incident that was blown out of proportion. Bond said Ahmed and a cousin were merely caught “blowing soap bubbles” in a restroom when they got into trouble.

“Kids are kids. He was a little boy in a new environment, and they were acting out,” Bond added.

When another suspension was issued after Mohamed and another student got into a fight in the hallway, Bond said he wrote a letter in support of the teen. The suspension was ultimately overturned because Ahmed was reportedly just defending himself, Bond maintains.

Ahmed Mohamed no longer attends the district that includes MacArthur High School and Sam Houston Middle School. He is currently “touring high-profile spots” around the country and will soon be going to the White House with his infamous clock. Mohamed was in NYC this week and addressed the Social Good Summit and visited the New York City Hall.

While at City Hall, he was given an official proclamation to honor his technological work. The document deemed Mohamed a “role model for young people” who wish to pursue careers in math, science, and engineering, and who want to “improve the world for future generations.”

What do you think about the Ahmed Mohamed debate and the bomb-like clock he took to school?

[Photo by Ben Torres/Getty Images]