Letters to the editor for Friday, Oct. 2, 2015

Reaction was to device, not student

Recently teenager Ahmed Mohamed took an old Radio Shack clock and rebuilt it in a metal case with some wires visible. Purportedly he tried to impress his engineering teacher. Ahmed took it to English class, plugged it in, and set the alarm. The teacher got scared when she saw it. She sent him to the principal, who called police, who handcuffed the boy. Their reaction was not to the boy, but to the device!

This supposedly “homemade” clock looked just like a terrorist’s bomb. Had Ahmed taken that to an airport or to a rally for Clinton, Trump or the pope, he’d have been locked in a bombproof car. Security at the school was careful to follow protocols, but refused to issue an apology as demanded by the father. The school board set up a meeting to meet with the boy and his parents, but the family failed to appear. Instead the family was meeting with attorneys, CAIR, and the press.

Ahmed’s father is an immigrant from Sudan who twice ran for the Sudanese presidency. He’s a Muslim activist, member of the Sufi Muslim Center, and CAIR, which has ties to both Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Irving has been in the news since city fathers disallowed a Muslim who attempted to institute Sharia law there.

Ahmed’s family will meet U.N. Palestinian delegates as their flag is raised, then to Mecca, after which they meet with President Obama.

Is there a double standard here? Why?

Judy Jacobs

Topaz Lake