Rabia Chaudry is a Washington-based lawyer, and national security fellow at the New America Foundation.
You're likely familiar with Ahmed Mohamed, the now famous 14-year-old Muslim student who built a clock, took it to school, ready to impress his teachers – but instead was arrested and suspended by people who feared his creation was a bomb. Now compare his story with that of Taylor Wilson, who at 14 built a nuclear reactor in his parents' home. At 10 he had built his first bomb. Mr. Wilson, now 21, was hailed by the Department of Homeland Security and invited to work with them, recognized by the White House, and awarded a $50,000 award at a science fair.
The difference, some may say, between Mr. Wilson and Ahmed is this: Mr. Wilson is a white non-Muslim.
There have been many lows for American Muslims since Sept. 11, 2001, one of them being this: Anti-Muslim sentiment is higher today than it was right before the horrific attacks in New York. This sentiment has seeped through the U.S. media and public discourse, making anti-Muslim attitudes not only acceptable but a proud part of many political platforms.
One of the most troubling manifestations of a growing bigotry towards Muslims is in law enforcement and national security policies. A perfect case: The recent arrest of Ahmed in Irving, Tex., for proudly bringing the aforementioned homemade digital clock to school to show his engineering teacher.
After being interviewed by a group of teachers and four police officers, the school suspended him, while the police led him from the school in handcuffs and took him to a juvenile detention facility. There the cops interrogated him without access to his parents or a lawyer despite his consistent statements that he had just made a clock from electronic components and, other than measure time, his device was harmless.
Ahmed was later released, and an outpouring of support on social media prompted invitations from the White House to Facebook and dozens of other institutions for Ahmed to come display his engineering skills. After being released, he had been told he could still face charges for creating a fake bomb, but later was told no charges would be brought.
There is no doubt that an existential fear of Muslims and Islam pervades the Western psyche, one that has been manufactured by a cottage industry of Islamophobes, given a foundation by our endless war on terror and military engagements in Muslim-majority countries, and reinforced by Muslim violent extremists.
But what this ends up feeling like for the millions of young Muslims in the United States is a deep sense of marginalization and exclusion from the American fabric. And what it ends up looking like is discrimination and hard-handed tactics from law enforcement.
At a time when groups such as the Islamic State are relentlessly attempting to recruit young Western Muslims, this bigotry directly feeds into the narrative that Islam and the West are not compatible. By viewing and treating all Muslims as potential terrorists, we essentially are telling them that violent extremists are right.
More importantly, the demonization of Islam and Muslims is fundamentally un-American; it is anathema to our values of inclusion and non-discrimination. Luckily for Ahmed, we saw those values reflected in the public response to this outrageous incident.
I hope that other young Muslims watching this unfold will take heart that Americans will stand by them in times of injustice and not let this episode discourage them from following their dreams of building, creating and contributing to their country.