He was locked up for supporting Islamist terrorism before tu

He was locked up for supporting Islamist terrorism before turning his life around
Ashley Powers, The Washington Post
Feb. 9, 2021
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2of6Mohammed Khalid's Koran.Photo for The Washington Post by Andre ChungShow MoreShow Less
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4of6Mohammed Khalid is pictured in Ellicott City, Md., near where he grew up.Photo for The Washington Post by Andre ChungShow MoreShow Less
5of6Mohammed Khalid.Photo for The Washington Post by Andre ChungShow MoreShow Less
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"Terrorist." That's what the boys whispered after he stood up and introduced himself to his ninth-grade class. "Terrorist." Soft enough that the teacher couldn't hear, loud enough to sting. The boys smirked, turned back to whatever was happening in English class. Mohammed Khalid didn't respond. He simmered inside. Mohammed was 13 and had arrived in suburban Baltimore from Pakistan just a few weeks before. He was a wisp of a kid in a collared shirt, with neatly trimmed black hair and oval-shaped glasses that he needed to clearly see the board. He was at the top of his class in Pakistan, but he was also shy, awkward, earnest. Spent a lot of time in his head. He'd talk to you, but only if you said hello first; even then, he'd struggle to meet your gaze. He preferred escaping to Hogwarts or Narnia - book or movie, didn't matter. Among his chattering American peers, he felt something new and awful: smallness.

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