DUBAI: A US-based Muslim teen has been accepted into Stanford University after submitting an application in which he wrote “#BlackLivesMatter” 100 times.
When 18-year-old activist Ziad Ahmed was asked “What matters to you, and why?” on the application form, he repeated the slogan and the risky decision paid off.
On Saturday, Ahmed tweeted out an image of his acceptance letter in a post that has been shared hundreds of times.

I submitted this answer in my @Stanford application, & yesterday, I was admitted...#BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/R5YxM77bWL

— Ziad Ahmed (@ziadtheactivist) April 1, 2017

“I was actually stunned when I opened the update and saw that I was admitted,” Ahmed said in an e-mail to news website Mic.com. “I didn’t think I would get admitted to Stanford at all, but it’s quite refreshing to see that they view my unapologetic activism as an asset rather than a liability.
“To me, to be Muslim is to be a BLM ally, and I honestly can’t imagine it being any other way for me,” Ahmed said. “Furthermore, it’s critical to realize that one-fourth to one-third of the Muslim community in America are black ... and to separate justice for Muslims from justices for the black community is to erase the realities of the plurality of our community.”
The Bangladeshi-American teen is no stranger to the spotlight and has already taken part in the White House’s iftar dinner under the Obama administration. He also worked for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and in 2015, gave a TedxTalk in Panama discussing his experience as a Muslim teen.
Ahmed also founded Redfy, a teen organization geared toward defying stereotypes around the world.
Mic reports that Ahmed has also been accepted into Yale University and Princeton University and will make his final decision by May 1.