Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old dubbed “Clockboy” by many in the press for igniting a national furor when he brought a homemade clock to school that many thought looked like a makeshift bomb, has now been named to Time magazine’s list of most influentials.
He’s coming in at the No. 5 slot of Time’s “30 Most Influential Teens of 2015.”
The news site describes him this way: “Not many people make national news by bringing a homemade clock to school. But the ninth grader’s arrest, after teachers and authorities mistook said clock for a bomb, kicked off a national debate over racial profiling – and a outpouring of support for Mohamed, who was personally invited to the White House by President Obama (who called his clock ‘cool’). In October, he accepted a full scholarship to a prestigious school in Qatar.”
Others on the list were crediting with rock climbing one of the most difficult courses in the world; serving as both a Disney star and outspoken activist for women’s rights; performing in big-name musical productions and fashion events; and starting a business that pulls in $200,000-plus per year and that was featured on “Shark Tank.”
Malia Obama, the eldest first daughter, and reality television stars Kylie and Kendall Jenner – part of the Kardashian family – made the list, as well.
As WND previously reported, Mohamed – who hailed from Irving, Texas, and attended MacArthur High School – is Muslim and will now move with his family to Qatar. Though credited with making the clock, he actually pieced it together using parts from another digital clock and stuck them on a suitcase type box.
Timeline of key “clock boy” events
September 14: Ahmed Mohamed brings homemade clock to MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas. Citing concerns the device is actually a bomb, staffers contact police. Police respond to the scene, handcuff him and transport him to a youth detention facility. He’s shortly after released to his parents’ custody, and suspended from school.
September 16: Police announce they will not charge Mohamed. Mark Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive officer of Facebook, takes to Twitter and says: “Ahmed: If you ever want to come by Facebook. I’d love to meet you. Keep building.”
September 16: President Obama sends his regards to Mohmed via Twitter, and invites him to the White House. Obama wrote: “Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great.”
September 16: Hillary Clinton, former secretary of State and Democratic Party presidential candidate, also tweets some support to Mohamed: “Assumptions and fear don’t keep us safe – they hold us back. Ahmed, stay curious and keep building.”
September 16: Google Science Fair invites Mohamed to bring his clock to the event, via this tweet: “Hey Ahmed: we’re saving a seat for you at this weekend’s Google Science Fair … want to come? Bring your clock!”
September 16: U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan tweets: “We need to be enouraging young engineers, not putting them in handcuffs. #IStandWithAhmed.”
September 16: Mohamed responds to all his supporters on Twitter with a photo of himself giving the peace symbol, along with the hashtag his followers created, “IStandWithAhmed.”
September 16: GoFundMe, the citizen funding site, launches a scholarship drive for Mohamed, raising in one month’s time more than $8,000.
September 17: Offers of scholarship money and educational and business opportunities pour in for Mohamed, from the likes of the software company Autodesk; from 123D Circuits; from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to visit and tour; from the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, to visit and tour; from UT Austin, to visit and tour; from former NASA astronaut Daniel Tani, to accept the shirt he wore in space; from former NASA engineer Homer Hickam, for a scholarship to Space Camp USA; from New European College, for a scholarship to its business school; and even from R&B artist Ne–Yo, for an introduction to the “world of music,” the artist tweeted.
September 17: The Cambridge Public Library send out invitations for its sponsored “Stand With Ahmed and Build Your Own Clock Day.”
September 17: Members of the Council on American–Islamic Relations, CAIR, jump into the fray and launch a public relations campaign about Mohamed, whom they paint as a victim of Islamophobia.
September 24: Mohamed appears on the Dr. Oz Science Fair television broadcast alongside the famous health celebrity.
September 27: Mohamed meets with Jordan’s Queen Rania at the Social Good Summit at the United Nations in New York City.
September through October: Media reports surface Mohamed didn’t actually make the clock but rather fashioned it from a Radio Shack digital clock pieces, glued to a cigar box. Reports surface Mohamed’s sister, Eyman, was once suspended from school for threatening to blow it up. Reports surface Mohamed’s father calls himself a sheik and is a 9/11 truther who frequently travels to Sudan to seek the presidency. Reports surface the Mohamed incident was a staged political activist attempt to sway the public into believing widespread anti–Muslim bias exists in America, particularly in schools.
October 15: Mohamed and his family meet with the genocidal Sudanese president, Omar al–Bashir, at the leader’s Khartoum home, as part of a tour to various overseas destinations, including Mecca.
October 18: CAIR presents Mohamed with the American Muslim of the Year Award – with an award in the shape of a clock, no less – at its 21st annual “Champions for Justice” event.
October 20: Mohamed’s family announces they’re moving from the United States for a home in Qatar. Mohamed prepares to join the QF Young Innovators Program with funds from the Qatar Foundation for Education’s Science and Community Development project.
October 21: Mohamed meets with Obama at the White House for “Astronomy Night” celebrations.
October 26: Irving, Texas, city official Anthony Bond files a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice against the Irving Police Department and Irving Independent School District over the arrest of Mohamed.
Related stories:
Ahmed the ‘clock boy’ to leave U.S. for Qatar
Ahmed the ‘clock boy’ stargazes with Obama
Ahmed the ‘clock boy’ meets prez accused of genocide
Muslim ‘clock-boy’ dad pushes 9/11 conspiracy theories
Ahmed the ‘clock boy’ on celebrity tour in Saudi Arabia
‘Clock boy’ had ‘racked up weeks of suspensions’
‘Clock-boy’s’ sister was suspended for ‘bomb’ threat
Police don’t plan to re-check Ahmed’s strange ‘clock’
Bill Maher: Muslim teen’s clock looked ‘like a bomb’
Atheist Dawkins calls out Muslim clock-boy hoax
Authorities defend schoolboy’s ‘hoax-bomb’ arrest
Muslim boy’s ‘cool clock’ is a fraud, says expert
