Ahmed Khadr - Early Life

Early Life

Born in Egypt to Mohamed Zaki Khadr and Munira Osman, Khadr later delighted in telling how his father had been asked by Munira's father to investigate a potential suitor, and had reported back that the man seemed unsuitable. He was subsequently invited to a dinner with the family, as a show of the father's appreciation – and fell in love with Munira himself.

Raised in Shubra El-Kheima, Khadr was a shy child with a speech impediment and frequently stayed at the house of his much older half-brother Ahmed Fouad. When Fouad left for the United States in the 1970s, Khadr asked his father if he could follow – but was forbidden. Planning the move behind his father's back, Khadr moved to Montreal, Canada in 1975.

After a few months in Montreal, Khadr moved to Toronto, before being accepted at the University of Ottawa to study Computer Programming. It was in Ottawa that he met Qasem Mahmud, the founder of Camp Al-Mu-Mee-Neen in Creemore, Ontario. Anxious to settle down and begin a family, the secular 29-year old volunteered to help at the camp. There he met Maha el-Samnah, who was impressed by his calmness and thought he was a good listener. Mahmud later described their meeting as "love at first sight".