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Clock Kid Is Moving to Qatar

Decision made within 24 hours of Obama meeting
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 21, 2015 1:17 AM CDT
Clock Kid Is Moving to Qatar
Ahmed Mohamed, joined by his father and others, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill Tuesday.   (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

"Clock kid" Ahmed Mohamed and his family are moving out of the US and it's not clear whether they'll ever move back. The family says it's moving to Qatar to take up a foundation's generous offer to give the 14-year-old a full scholarship for high school and college, reports the Dallas Morning News. The announcement came less than 24 hours after Ahmed met President Obama, who invited him to Washington last month after his high school in Irving, Texas, had him arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school, which was mistaken for a bomb. Mohamed's parents and two sisters will be joining him in Qatar.

"Looking at all the great offers we've had, it's the best decision," his 18-year-old sister Eyman tells the Morning News. "They even have Texas A&M at Qatar. It's basically like America." Family friend Anthony Bond tells the Post that the family made the decision over the last 24 hours, and one big factor was the conspiracy theories in the US accusing the boy and his family of plotting the clock incident for attention. "Everybody's vilifying him, and he's not a villain. He's a 14-year-old boy," Bond says. "The whole world was concerned about this, and it's impossible that anyone could have expected this international reaction." (The family's lawyer says the boy was "having some issues" after the story went viral.)

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