Ahmad was born in Inner Sydney and attended
Punchbowl Boys High School. In 2012, Ahmad founded
SWEATSHOP Western Sydney Literacy Movement, an arts organisation that promotes literacy in Western Sydney. In 2014 he published his debut novel
The Tribe with
Giramondo. Ahmad has stated he was motivated to write
The Tribe in order to counteract negative stereotypes about
Arab Australians that flourished in
Australia following the
September 11 attacks. In 2017 Ahmad received his
Doctorate of Creative Arts at
Western Sydney University. which was shortlisted for the 2019
Miles Franklin Award. Ahmad was nominated for NSW Young Person of the Year in 2022, recognising both his writing and literacy work. == Bibliography ==