Qatar Foundation gives Clockboy a Scholarship, Discovered to have Terrorist Ties

Ahmed “Clockboy” Mohammed and his family will be moving to Qatar, where the 14-year-old was awarded a full scholarship. Turns out the Qatar Foundation (QF), the charity that offered him the scholarship, may be connected to ISIS. 

Did you hear about the Arab kid who gave his teacher a homemade clock and was arrested because the school thought it was a bomb?

Ahmed Mohammed ended up in handcuffs last month when the homemade clock he presented to his teacher was mistaken for a bomb. His story made international headlines and questions were raised about anti-Muslim bias in schools. In addition to the scholarship, the boy received invitations from Google, Facebook, and even the President. According to the Qatar Foundation, “Ahmed is the latest recipient of a scholarship from the Young Innovators Program which supports young, exceptional Arabs by offering educational opportunities in Qatar. The program encourages recipients to follow their aspirations in education while fostering a culture of innovation and creativity.” 

The 14-year-old visited Qatar and Saudi Arabia in early October. “I was really impressed with everything that Qatar Foundation has to offer and the campuses are really cool,” said Mohammed. “I got to meet other kids who are also really interested in science and technology. I think I will learn a lot and also have lots of fun there.” 

Despite all the goodwill that resulted from the now-infamous arrest, there is a controversial aspect to Mohammed’s story. Not only did the kid pose for a picture with Sudan’s president, a man wanted by the International Criminal Court, but QF has a history of hosting radical “hate-preachers” with traditions of anti-Semitic and anti-American sermons.

Even worse, QF seems to be connected with ISIS bombings in Saudi Arabia. On May 29th, the very same day that an anti-Shia preacher spoke at one of the Foundation’s mosques, a Shia mosque in Saudi Arabia was targeted by an ISIS suicide bomber. Four people were killed. A week earlier, a terrorist attack at another Saudi Arabian mosque killed 21 and injured 100. 

This isn’t the first time a Qatari organization has been suspected of funding terror. British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke out against the country’s government last December amid suspicions that Qatar was stealing World Cup stadium money to fund terrorism. 

The truth is that al-Qaeda has been receiving money from wealthy Qataris for years. 

The US has used sanctions in an effort to stop Qataris from supporting terrorism, but it has not been effective. Those who initially raised questions about Clockboy and his family were shot down as racist. Turns out, they were right. If the Mohammed family was suspicious before, they are doubly so now. Not only will QF be paying for the boy’s education, it will also be brainwashing him with ISIS ideologies. While his family says that Mohammed has nothing to do with radical Islam, their decision to move to Qatar begs to differ.