Less than 24 hours after Ahmed Mohamed met President Obama, his family decided it’s time to leave America for good.
The 14-year-old Texas boy who was arrested for bringing to school a homemade clock that authorities said resembled a bomb will soon be living in Qatar.
“After careful consideration of all the generous offers received, we would like to announce that we have accepted a kind offer from Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) for Ahmed to join the prestigious QF Young Innovators Program, which reflects the organization’s on-going dedication to empowering young people and fostering a culture of innovation and creativity,” the family said in a press release Tuesday.
Anthony Bond, a close family friend and the founder of the Irving, Texas chapter of the NAACP said the family made the decision to leave the U.S. within the last 24 hours. They have spent those hours in Washington, D.C. where Ahmed has been on a mini-press tour in anticipation of his visit to the White House.
President Obama personally invited the teen after his arrest last month, reaching out to him via Twitter. The president was one of many who spoke out about the implications of a 14-year-old Muslim boy accused of building a bomb, put in handcuffs and pulled out a school. Once it was discovered that the “bomb” was only a digital clock the young innovator built himself, the Irving Police said they would not be charging Ahmed with any crime.
But the spark had already been lit; Ahmed’s story went viral, with the hashtag #IStandWithAhmed bringing out legions of supporters including Mark Zuckerberg, Hillary Clinton and Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Tweets, thinkpieces and day-time TV segments were dedicated to dissecting how Ahmed’s situation typified racism and Islamaphobia in America.
After withdrawing from school in Texas, the boy’s family embraced the opportunities that came from his brush with the law. He visited the Google Science Fair, met with Sudan’s President Omar al Bashir, posed with the Queen of Jordan at a United Nations Summit, appeared on the “Doctor Oz” show and last night, made it to the White House.
He was among 300 visitors to “Astronomy Night,” a celebration of science and learning. Bill Nye the Science Guy was there, along with a number of standout students who have been recognized for scientific achievements throughout the country. Though some of those students received shoutouts during President Obama’s comments, there was no mention of Ahmed in the audience. That didn’t stop reporters from shouting to him from behind the rope lines: “Ahmed! How are you feeling?”
Perhaps that’s the question that has been left out of the viral hubbub: what has this been like for Ahmed? To go from a run-of-the-mill 14-year-old to an international symbol for stereotyping in America?
In a phone interview on Tuesday, Ahmed’s 19-year-old sister Eyman said he’s under a pressure they never imagined. It can be a good pressure: “It’s like now he’s motivated to work harder than every before,” she said. “Because people are going to be waiting to see what happened to that 14 year old kid.”
And a bad one: “It’s been really hard. Everything happens for a reason, but there’s so much stuff being said that isn’t true...”
Eyman was referring to a number of conspiracy theories that appeared on the Internet about his arrest. Most attest that the incident was a pre-planned plot to get attention. Some of that skepticism stems from claims against Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Elhassan, who has run for president of Sudan and was present during a high-profile Quaran burning in Florida. Bond, the family friend, said the conspiracies are why Ahmed doesn’t want to go to school in America.
“Everybody’s vilifying him, and he’s not a villain. He’s a 14 year old boy,” Bond said. “The whole world was concerned about this, and it’s impossible that anyone could have expected this international reaction.”
Bond said the family is planning to move next week so Ahmed can begin school at the Qatar Foundation, where he will receive a full scholarship. His parents and two sisters will relocate too. The press release announcing the move may be the last we hear from the family for a while.
It included one statement from Ahmed:
“I loved the city of Doha because it’s so modern. I saw so many amazing schools there, many of them campuses of famous American universities. The teachers were great. I think I will learn a lot and have fun too.”
Ahmed’s sister Eyman said the Middle East won’t feel too different from the U.S., except that the family will be surrounded by Muslims like themselves.
“Qatar is in the Arab world, but it also feels like Texas. It’s like Texas in Qatar
I smelled a rat from Day 1. When Obama swoops in, there is ALWAYS an underlying agenda. Always take a step back and ask yourself why Obama is suddenly sticking his nose and Mouse ears into a situation.
Next time we see him, he will either be in a recruiting video for ISIS or bombing something for real.
I'm telling you. This was a test to see if a school kid could get a bomb in a school.
__________________
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I agree Lilly. It was a briefcase. You don't make a clock that looks like a briefcase. That was the most inane thing. And, the fact that the liberal press can convince us that a man is now a woman because they said so and a dry run bomb is not a bomb. Well, welcome to Animal Farm and 1984.
I agree Lilly. It was a briefcase. You don't make a clock that looks like a briefcase. That was the most inane thing. And, the fact that the liberal press can convince us that a man is now a woman because they said so and a dry run bomb is not a bomb. Well, welcome to Animal Farm and 1984.
Yep.
The sad thing is, for a lot of people, the terrorists will have to be in their kitchen with a bomb and a sign before they actually see the danger.
__________________
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
Well I'm glad for his sake that he is moving. Honestly I really haven't kept up with this story and the way the media is if he is innocent no one is going to believe him anyway. If what they said is true then it is a good thing if they leave our country. A win/win choice for all.
No, actually we DO see the danger, we just don't see boogeymen under every rock.
flan
Well you need to because the point of Islam is for you to convert or be killed. It's people who have their PC heads up their butt that allow them to gain the ground they've already made. You (general you) live in such a fantasy world that the rest of us will have to worry about keeping you all safe in spite of yourself.
__________________
“Until I discovered cooking, I was never really interested in anything.” ― Julia Child ―
No, actually we DO see the danger, we just don't see boogeymen under every rock.
flan
Well you need to because the point of Islam is for you to convert or be killed. It's people who have their PC heads up their butt that allow them to gain the ground they've already made. You (general you) live in such a fantasy world that the rest of us will have to worry about keeping you all safe in spite of yourself.
This. And the fact that we have a president whose mission is to turn the U.S. into an Islam nation.
Next time we see him, he will either be in a recruiting video for ISIS or bombing something for real.
I'm telling you. This was a test to see if a school kid could get a bomb in a school.
I don't see how it was a test. Unless there is x-ray screening or bag searches at the school it basically is a forgone conclusion anyone could bring anything in.
Next time we see him, he will either be in a recruiting video for ISIS or bombing something for real.
I'm telling you. This was a test to see if a school kid could get a bomb in a school.
I don't see how it was a test. Unless there is x-ray screening or bag searches at the school it basically is a forgone conclusion anyone could bring anything in.
The kid put what could be seen as a bomb in a brief case and called it a clock.
The test was to see if the school would just shrug and say "oh. Ok".
If it did, then there is a way to get bombs in schools.
__________________
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
No, actually we DO see the danger, we just don't see boogeymen under every rock.
flan
Well you need to because the point of Islam is for you to convert or be killed. It's people who have their PC heads up their butt that allow them to gain the ground they've already made. You (general you) live in such a fantasy world that the rest of us will have to worry about keeping you all safe in spite of yourself.
This. And the fact that we have a president whose mission is to turn the U.S. into an Islam nation.
Yep.
I'm truly interested in seeing what our fearless leader does after he leaves office.
I bet what a lot of people have been saying about him will be proven as fact then.
But no one will want to admit it.
__________________
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
Um, he's hobknobbing with terrorists and thug leaders of the world. This isn't some random kid who got dentention and then went back to playing Xbox and picking his zits. Wow.
I don't know why I continue to be surprised by some of the crazy theories I read here...
flan
What crazy theories? That he was hobnobbing with a known terrorist? Well, that's true.
That's he's moving to a country that publicly supports terrorism? Well, that's also true.
And you don't find this disturbing?
That he was a terrorist doing a dry run. If it was a dry run there is no need to show it around just get it thru the front door. I guess he showed that if you have a bomb keep it hidden. I thought that would be expected.
I don't know why I continue to be surprised by some of the crazy theories I read here...
flan
What crazy theories? That he was hobnobbing with a known terrorist? Well, that's true.
That's he's moving to a country that publicly supports terrorism? Well, that's also true.
And you don't find this disturbing?
That he was a terrorist doing a dry run. If it was a dry run there is no need to show it around just get it thru the front door. I guess he showed that if you have a bomb keep it hidden. I thought that would be expected.
Have you not paid attention to any of the news about events leading up to a terrorist attack?
Dry runs are common.
To see what they can and can not get by with.
No one in their right mind can think this wasn't a test.
__________________
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I don't know why I continue to be surprised by some of the crazy theories I read here...
flan
What crazy theories? That he was hobnobbing with a known terrorist? Well, that's true.
That's he's moving to a country that publicly supports terrorism? Well, that's also true.
And you don't find this disturbing?
That he was a terrorist doing a dry run. If it was a dry run there is no need to show it around just get it thru the front door. I guess he showed that if you have a bomb keep it hidden. I thought that would be expected.
Have you not paid attention to any of the news about events leading up to a terrorist attack?
Dry runs are common.
To see what they can and can not get by with.
No one in their right mind can think this wasn't a test.
So the chemistry teacher was in on the "plot," too?
I don't know why I continue to be surprised by some of the crazy theories I read here...
flan
What crazy theories? That he was hobnobbing with a known terrorist? Well, that's true.
That's he's moving to a country that publicly supports terrorism? Well, that's also true.
And you don't find this disturbing?
That he was a terrorist doing a dry run. If it was a dry run there is no need to show it around just get it thru the front door. I guess he showed that if you have a bomb keep it hidden. I thought that would be expected.
Have you not paid attention to any of the news about events leading up to a terrorist attack?
Dry runs are common.
To see what they can and can not get by with.
No one in their right mind can think this wasn't a test.
So the chemistry teacher was in on the "plot," too?
flan
The teacher had nothing to do with it. It was a home project that he brought to school, not a school project homework assignment. It had nothing to do with his classes. And who makes a clock in Chemistry? That doesn't even make sense...
__________________
America guarantees equal opportunity, not equal outcome...
I don't know why I continue to be surprised by some of the crazy theories I read here...
flan
What crazy theories? That he was hobnobbing with a known terrorist? Well, that's true.
That's he's moving to a country that publicly supports terrorism? Well, that's also true.
And you don't find this disturbing?
That he was a terrorist doing a dry run. If it was a dry run there is no need to show it around just get it thru the front door. I guess he showed that if you have a bomb keep it hidden. I thought that would be expected.
Have you not paid attention to any of the news about events leading up to a terrorist attack?
Dry runs are common.
To see what they can and can not get by with.
No one in their right mind can think this wasn't a test.
So the chemistry teacher was in on the "plot," too?
flan
The teacher had nothing to do with it. It was a home project that he brought to school, not a school project homework assignment. It had nothing to do with his classes. And who makes a clock in Chemistry? That doesn't even make sense...
Why chemistry?
Maybe the teacher has made his own clocks. Maybe he teaches other science classes...
