Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old who gained national recognition after he was arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school that was mistaken for a bomb, has decided with his family to leave the United States for Qatar.
According to a friend, the family made the decision while Ahmed was in Washington, D.C., earlier this week to attend a White House event and meet President Obama, the Washington Post reported. The teenager spent Monday evening at the White House’s Astronomy Night, where he mingled with stars of the science community and chatted with Obama while onlookers snapped pictures.
His family announced in a press release Tuesday that Ahmed had accepted a scholarship to the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development and that they will move to Qatar so he can attend school there. The family friend said that they will leave the United States next week.
Ahmed was awarded the full scholarship, along with other offers, after the clock incident. He and his family visited the foundation earlier this month.
"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 the release, which also carried a statement from Ahmed himself.
"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 said.
The 14-year-old was the subject of national attention in September when he was arrested after bringing a digital clock he made to his Texas high school that teachers mistook for a bomb, leading many to allege that he was religiously profiled. Some have theorized that Ahmed and his family intentionally orchestrated the arrest to get attention. His father, a Sudanese immigrant to the United States, once ran for president there.
Ahmed’s encounter with Obama followed one last week with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, an accused war criminal.