Past Irving MacArthur student says she didn't experience Islamophobia

A young woman with similar religious beliefs as the teen arrested over a clock said she didn’t experience the alleged Islamophobia that he said occurred at Irving’s MacArthur High School.

Ahmed Mohamed's family is demanding $15 million dollars from the city claiming discrimination and a negative impact from the arrest. In stark contrast, 18-year-old Amena Jamali said her experience at MacArthur was purely positive.

The 2015 valedictorian said in the four years she was at MacArthur, both teachers and administrators bent over backwards to accommodate her religious requests.

"How some of my teachers had given me permission to go out of class how the school gave me a pass for that, how some teachers actually delayed the UIL bus from leaving our tournaments just so I would have time to finish praying,” Jamali said.

Jamali watched along with everyone else as 14-year-old Mohamed was arrested in September for bringing a re-wired clock in a pencil case to school. The criticism directed toward the school, district and city hurt her.

"Mac is not an intolerant place and I've had four years to test that hypothesis and come out saying that I'm very proud to have been a MacArthur Cardinal"

Jamali chose not to insult or criticize Mohamed, his family or the special interest groups that rallied around him. She only said her experience within Irving ISD was vastly different than his.