Everyone has read a variation of the headline “Muslim 14-year-old Handcuffed for Making Clock.” A Dallas, Texas high school is responsible for the suspension and detainment of a 14-year-old Muslim freshman named Ahmed Mohamed. Mohamed was accused of creating a bomb, but the freshman’s invention was a clock. Since the suspension and detainment, the Muslim teenager found himself in a whirlwind of support by social media, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and President Barack Obama. The “I Stand With Ahmed” hashtag brought up an important question: What is islamophobia?

A swift Google search can define islamophobia as the dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslim people, especially as a political force. The nation is charged on the debate of Islam, as a result of 9-11 and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Ben Carson was quoted to have said, “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.” Islamophobia is ingrained in the predominantly Christian society of the U.S.; a change has to be made. The ignorance and fear American people feel towards Muslim individuals is a dominant threat to the safety of many.

Hawthorne High School has the power to fight islamophobia. Protect a Muslim peer. With prejudice rampant in the general public, HHS has a choice. Stand with Ahmed.