Ahmed Mohamed had hoped to impress teachers by bringing his clock to his school, but was instead accused of trying to scare people with a hoax bomb.
Washington:
US Muslim teenager Ahmed Mohamed has got back his clock that was mistaken for a bomb. The 14-year-old Texas boy had hoped to impress teachers by bringing his clock to his school earlier this year, but was instead accused of trying to scare people with a hoax bomb and escorted from the school in handcuffs.
"Got my clock back finally!!," the young robotics fan, son of Sudanese immigrants who live in a Dallas suburb, tweeted in all caps.
Mohamed became an overnight sensation after his sister tweeted a photo of the aspiring inventor standing in handcuffs while wearing a t-shirt with the US space agency NASA's logo last month.
President Barack Obama joined a surge of public support by congratulating the teen on his skills, in what was seen as a pointed rebuke to school and police officials amid accusations of Islamophobia.
"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," Obama had tweeted.
Invitations poured in from Facebook, Google, the United Nations and in the coming weeks Mohamed tweeted photos of visits to New York, Sudan, Qatar and Mecca.
On Monday night, Mohamed joined a group of students, teachers, scientists, astronauts and celebrities -- including the "Myth Busters" and Bill Nye -- for White House Astronomy Night.
"So happy, I can't believe that I met the #president of the #unitedstates!!!" he tweeted, in all caps, alongside a photo which showed Obama hugging Mohamed.
Overwhelmed by offers to support Mohamed's education, his family has decided to move to Qatar after receiving a full scholarship for his secondary and undergraduate education.
Mohamed will join the Qatar Foundation's Young Innovators Program, which he visited earlier this month.
"Qatar was a cool place to visit," he said in a statement released to the Dallas Morning News on Tuesday. "The teachers were great. I think I will learn a lot and have fun too."