But in recent weeks, the teenager has been traveling the world. Ahmed earlier this week told The Associated Press that he had visited Google and Facebook, along with other companies and institutions. He also visited with the president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, which has prompted some criticism because al-Bashir is wanted by International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and war crimes for atrocities linked to the Darfur fighting. Ahmed’s father is a Sudanese immigrant to the U.S. and a former presidential candidate in Sudan who ran opposing al-Bashir.
Before attending “Astronomy Night” at the White House on Monday, where he chatted briefly with President Barack Obama, Ahmed said he was grateful. He said the lesson of his experience is: “Don’t judge a person by the way they look. Always judge them by their heart.”
On Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol, Ahmed stood alongside California Rep. Mike Honda as the Democrat praised the teen, saying Ahmed had used his negative experience to raise awareness about racial and ethnic profiling. Honda and more than two dozen other congressmen sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch last month calling on the Department of Justice to investigate Ahmed’s detention and arrest.
