Clock Boy Update: Texas Teen Moves to Qatar on Full Academic Scholarship
The 14-year-old Muslim student who was arrested for bringing a homemade clock to his Texas high school when it was mistaken for a bomb last month has accepted a scholarship to attend school in Qatar.
Ahmed Mohamed's family released a statement on Tuesday saying they accepted a foundation's offer to pay for his high school and college education in Doha, Qatar, following his recent visit to the Middle East country. Mohamed was also invited to the White House on Monday and the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.
"We are going to move to a place where my kids can study and learn, and all of them being accepted by that country," Ahmed's father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, told The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday.
According to the statement, the family has accepted an offer from the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development to join its Young Innovators Program. The family added that they have been "overwhelmed by the many offers of support" since "the unfortunate incident of Ahmed's arrest" at his school, reports BBC News. "From the White House to Sudan, to Mecca, we have been welcomed by a variety of individuals, businesses and educational institutions."
Ahmed said he was impressed with the program and thinks he'll "learn a lot and have fun too."
"Qatar was a cool place to visit. 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," said the teen in the news statement. "The teachers were great. I think I will learn a lot and have fun too."
Ahmed rose to fame when he was detained on Sept. 14, after he tried to "impress" his teacher at the MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas, by showing her a clock that he had built. However, the teacher mistakenly thought the device was a bomb and notified authorities. The teen was then placed in handcuffs and interrogated as a suspected terrorist.
During his interrogation, the freshman student says he repeatedly told officials he had brought a clock to school, not a bomb, and that he was not allowed to contact his parents. Eventually, he was released from custody and police dropped their charges. However, school officials and the mayor of the Texas town defended their actions.
Shortly thereafter, the teenager received an outpouring of global support on social media and from celebrities, while others argued that he was a victim of profiling due to his ethnicity and religion.
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