Name	Saeed al-Ghamdi
Birth date	November 21, 1979
Birth name	Saeed al-Ghamdi (in Arabic: سعيد الغامدي)
Birth place	al Bahah Province, Saudi Arabia
Death date	September 11, 2001
Death place	Shanksville, Pennsylvania, United States

Saeed Abdallah Ali Sulayman al-Ghamdi (, Sa‘īd al-Ghāmdī) (November 21, 1979 – September 11, 2001) was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks.

Born in Saudi Arabia, Ghamdi left his home to fight in Chechnya after dropping out of college, but was diverted to Afghanistan to train in an al-Qaeda camp. He was soon chosen by Osama bin Laden to participate in terrorist attacks in the United States and arrived in the U.S. in June 2001.

On September 11, 2001, he boarded United 93 and assisted in the hijacking of the plane, which was crashed into a field in the control of hijacker-pilot Ziad Jarrah in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after the passengers attempted to take control of the plane in an uprising.

History

Ghamdi was from the al Bahah province of Saudi Arabia, an isolated and underdeveloped area, and shared the same tribal affiliation with fellow hijackers Ahmed al-Ghamdi, Hamza al-Ghamdi, and Ahmed al-Haznawi, although he was not related to either Ghamdi. He may have been in contact with the two Ghamdis and Haznawi as early as 1999. This group is noted as being some of the more religiously observant of the hijackers. Ghamdi spent time in al Qasim province, Saudi Arabia where he transferred to college but soon dropped out and ceased contact with his family. While there, he probably associated with the radical Saudi cleric named Sulayman al-Alwan as several other future hijackers did.

Saeed later headed to Chechnya to participate in the conflict against the Russians. At this time, Chechen fighters were turning away additional foreigners, many of whom ended up in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan to train and await entry to Chechnya. Saeed ended up at the Al Farouq training camp, where he met Ahmed al-Nami, and the brothers Wail and Waleed al-Shehri. The four reportedly pledge themselves to Jihad in the Spring of 2000, in a ceremony presided over by Wail—who had dubbed himself Abu Mossaeb al-Janubi after one of Muhammad's companions.

Saeed was known to Tawfiq bin Attash who is thought to have convinced him to become a martyr. Saeed was at that time working as a security guard at Kandahar airport along with Waleed al-Shehri. Some time late in 2000, Saeed traveled to the United Arab Emirates, where he purchased traveler's cheques presumed to have been paid for by Mustafa al-Hawsawi. Five other hijackers also passed through the UAE and purchased travellers cheques, including Majed Moqed, Wail al-Shehri, Hamza al-Ghamdi, Ahmed al-Haznawi and Ahmed al-Nami.

On November 13, 2000, another Saeed al-Ghamdi tried to obtain a Visa to enter the United States, but was declined. Although the 9/11 Commission makes mention of him, there is no evidence he was associated with the hijackers.

In March 2001, Saeed was filmed in a farewell video that was later aired on al-Jazeera. In the video, many future 9/11 hijackers swear to become martyrs, although no details of the plot are revealed. Saeed referred to America as "the enemy", and is seen studying maps and flight manuals.

In the United States

On June 12, 2001 Saeed al-Ghamdi applied for and received a second two-year US B-1/B-2 (tourist/business) visa in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. His application was submitted by a local travel agency and processed through Visa Express, a controversial US visa program in Saudi Arabia which was discontinued the following year.

Arriving in the U.S. on June 27, 2001 with Fayez Banihammad, Saeed shared an apartment with Ahmed al-Nami in Delray Beach, Florida. Oddly, he listed the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida as his permanent address on his driver's license. He was one of 9 hijackers to open a SunTrust bank account with a cash deposit around June 2001. Saeed occasionally trained on simulators at the FlightSafety Aviation School in Vero Beach, Florida together with Mohand al-Shehri and Abdulaziz al-Omari.

According to al-Jazeera reporter Yosri Fouda's documentary Top Secret: The Road to September 11, three weeks prior to the attacks Saeed is believed to have used the name 'Abdul Rahman' to send a message to Ramzi Binalshibh (who was posing as a girlfriend) online, in which he wrote

On September 7, all four of Flight 93 hijackers flew from Fort Lauderdale to Newark International Airport aboard Spirit Airlines.

Attacks

page from Saeed al-Ghamdi's Kingdom of Saudi Arabia passport recovered from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site]]

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Ghamdi boarded United Airlines Flight 93 without incident. Due to the flight's delay, the pilot and crew were notified of the previous hijackings that day, and were told to be on the alert. Within minutes, Flight 93 was hijacked as well.

At least two of the cellphone calls made by passengers indicate that all the hijackers they saw were wearing red bandanas. The calls also indicated that one of the men had tied a box around his torso, and claimed there was a bomb inside; it is not known which hijacker this was.

According to the , it appeared Saeed may have been at the controls of the flight when it crashed, although the 9/11 commission asserts that Ziad Jarrah was the pilot.

Passengers on the plane heard through phone calls the fates of the other hijacked planes. A passenger uprising resulted in the plane crashing into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing everyone aboard.

Mistaken identity

On September 23, 2001, before the FBI had released the pictures of the hijackers, the BBC and The Daily Telegraph reported that a Saudi Airlines pilot named Saeed al-Ghamdi was furious that a name on the hijacker's list released by the FBI matched his own. CNN also mistakenly showed a picture of the "living" Ghamdi as the hijacker. The man claimed CNN likely got his picture from a Flight Safety flying school in Florida he attended. Der Spiegel later investigated the claims of "living" hijackers by the BBC and discovered them to be cases of mistaken identities.

According to immigration records in the Philippines, someone named Saeed al-Ghamdi visited that country on at least 15 occasions in 2001, entering as a tourist. The last visit ended on August 6. This may have been a different person with the same name, as no other information is available.

In June 2005 the Saudi government released a list (see al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) of 36 wanted (and alive) terrorists, one of whom was Salih Sa'id Al Batih al-Ghamdi. 9/11 conspiracy theorists quickly confused him with the hijacker Saeed al-Ghamdi.

References

External links

The Final 9/11 Commission Report

BBC News

Category:2001 deaths Category:Saudi Arabian al-Qaeda members Category:Participants in the September 11 attacks Category:United Airlines Flight 93 Category:1979 births

Name	Ziad Jarrah
Imagesize	150px
Birth date	May 11, 1975
Birth name	Ziad Samir Jarrah ()
Birth place	Mazraa, Lebanon
Death date	September 11, 2001
Death place	Shanksville, Pennsylvania, United States

Ziad Samir Jarrah (, Zīād Samīr Jarrāḥ) (May 11, 1975 – September 11, 2001) was one of the masterminds of the September 11 attacks and the hijacker-pilot in control of United Airlines Flight 93 as it crashed into a field in a rural area near Shanksville, as part of the coordinated attacks.

After a wealthy and secular upbringing, Jarrah moved to Germany in 1996. He became involved in the planning of the September 11 attacks while attending a technical school in the late 1990s, meeting Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ramzi Binalshibh, forming in 1998, what is now known as the Hamburg cell. Jarrah was recruited by Osama bin Laden for the attacks in 1999. Unique among the hijackers, he was close to his family and girlfriend.

Jarrah arrived in the United States in June 2000, he trained at Florida Flight Training Center from June 2000 to January 2001, after relocating to Florida from New Jersey.

On September 7, 2001, Jarrah flew from Fort Lauderdale to Newark. On September 11, Jarrah boarded United 93, and he is believed to have taken over as the pilot of the aircraft along with his team of hijackers, which included Saeed al-Ghamdi, Ahmed al-Nami and Ahmed al-Haznawi who together made an unsuccessful attempt to crash the plane into the U.S. Capitol or the White House.

Aliases

There are many variations on his name, including "Ziad Samir Al-Jarrah", "Zaid Jarrahi", "Ziad Jarrah Jarrat", and "Ziyad Samir Jarrah".

History

Early life

Jarrah was born in Mazraa, Lebanon, to a wealthy family. His parents were nominally Muslim Sunnis, although they lived a secular lifestyle. When he was seven years old, Israel invaded southern Lebanon, a fact he referred to later in life. His parents sent him to a Catholic school in Beirut, La Sagesse, where he volunteered at a camp for disabled children and helped run an anti-drug program. Later on, he served a nearby church helping orphaned children there. His academic success to this point was mediocre, and his parents arranged for private tutors in mathematics, physics and chemistry.

He remained close to his family; he was apparently the only 9/11 hijacker to have close family ties, including with his uncle Assem Jarrah, whose work permit would later be found in the wreckage with Ziad’s passport. In his childhood, he had always wanted to fly planes, but his family discouraged this. “I stopped him from being a pilot,” his father told the Wall Street Journal a week after the attacks. “I only have one son and I was afraid that he would crash.” Not long after this, Jarrah shaved his beard and began to act more secular, according to Şengün. Many of the future hijackers attempted to hide their radicalism and blend in with the population. Jarrah reported his passport stolen in February 2000 and received a duplicate, just as hijackers Atta and Shehhi had done the previous month.

Jarrah dropped out of the Fachhochschule and began looking at flight schools. He claimed that this was to fulfill his childhood dream of being a pilot. After looking in several countries, he decided that none of the flight schools in Europe were sufficient; and, at the advice of a childhood friend, he prepared to move to the United States.

In the United States

, 2000.]] Jarrah apparently entered the United States on seven separate occasions, more than any other hijacker. On May 25, 2000, he applied for and received a five-year US [[B-1/B-2 Visa|B-1/B-2 (tourist/business) visa]] in Berlin. On June 27, 2000, he came to the U.S. for the first time, arriving at Newark International Airport. He then traveled to Florida, where he enrolled full-time at the Florida Flight Training Center in Venice. Jarrah did not apply for a change in his status, from a tourist visa to a student visa, thus violating his immigration status. He said he had bought a new suit for the occasion, and his landlady later confirmed that Jarrah had shown off the suit to her days earlier.

On September 10, Jarrah spent the last evening of his life writing a letter to his girlfriend Aysel Senguen, the woman with whom he had made marriage plans. This letter is widely interpreted as a suicide note. The letter did not reach Senguen; she had entered witness protection shortly after the attacks and her apartment was unattended. The letter was returned to the United States by the postal services, where it was discovered and delivered to the FBI.

Attacks

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Jarrah, Saeed al-Ghamdi, Ahmed al-Nami and Ahmed al-Haznawi boarded United Airlines Flight 93 in Newark Liberty International Airport at gate A17 without incident, and sat in a first-class seat near the cockpit. Due to the flight's delay, the plane took off at 8:41 am, five minutes before American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center. The pilot and crew were notified of the first two hijackings that day, and were told to be on the alert. Within minutes, around 9:10 am, Flight 93 was hijacked as well.

The 9/11 Commission stated that Jarrah was the pilot. The flight transcript might indicate that Saeed al-Ghamdi, who also trained in flight simulators, could have been the pilot or a co-pilot. Two of the hijackers are heard calling the pilot "Saeed".

Mistaken identity claims

There have been claims that Jarrah was not a hijacker or that he was not present on the plane and his identity was stolen. It has been pointed out that his behavior deviated from the profile presented by the other hijackers and that the passengers reported three and not four hijackers. However, the October 2006 emergence of a “martyrdom” video shot on January 18, 2000, along with Mohamed Atta has cast heavy doubt on such claims.

Shortly after the September 11 attacks, family and friends claimed that Jarrah did not exhibit the same “smoldering political resentments” or “cultural conservatism” as Mohamed Atta. He was not raised with a background of religious conviction and did not hold to an obviously conservative lifestyle. Personnel at the flight school Jarrah attended described him as “a normal person.” Jarrah called his family two days, and his girlfriend Aysel Sengün three hours, before boarding United 93; Sengün described the conversation as “pleasant” and “normal.” She also claimed that he never mentioned any names of the other hijackers. In his call two days before the attack, Jarrah told his family he would be coming home for a cousin’s wedding. “It makes no sense,” his uncle Jamal claimed. “He said he had even bought a new suit for the occasion.” Jarrah’s family in Lebanon claimed in September 2001 that he was an innocent passenger on the plane.

On October 23, 2001, John Ashcroft claimed that Jarrah had shared a Hamburg apartment with Mohamed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi, In October 2006, however, a video surfaced showing Atta and Jarrah together in Afghanistan, clearly connecting Jarrah to the members of the Hamburg cell. Jarrah also appears in a wedding video with other hijackers at a mosque in Hamburg.

The 9/11 Commission concluded without qualification that Jarrah was a hijacker on the plane when it crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

In October 2006, an al-Qaeda video was released showing Jarrah and Mohamed Atta recording their wills in January 2000 in Osama Bin Laden’s Tarnak Farms base near Kandahar.

Notes

Unless otherwise sourced, statements in this article come primarily from the 9/11 Commission Report. Where there is substantial disagreement with the report about significant facts in Jarrah's life, this is mentioned explicitly.

Various sources have speculated that the White House was the target of Flight 93; the 9/11 Commission Report, based on information derived from the interrogations of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, confidently asserts that it was, in fact, the Capitol Building that was targeted. Additionally, before he was captured, Sheikh Mohammed, along with Binalshibh, told an Al Jazeera reporter (who was taken blindfolded to his hideout) back in 2002 that the fourth target was in fact the Capitol Building.

This account, in the 9/11 Commission Report, is provided solely from the testimony of captured al-Qaeda member Ramzi Binalshibh.

References

Further reading

Category:1975 births Category:2001 deaths Category:Lebanese al-Qaeda members Category:Participants in the September 11 attacks Category:University of Greifswald alumni Category:United Airlines Flight 93 Category:Lebanese mass murderers

Name	Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh
Caption	The name Muhammad in traditional Thuluth calligraphy by the hand of Hattat Aziz Efendi
Birth date	ca. 570/571
Birth place	Mecca, Arabia (present day Saudi Arabia)
Death date	June 8, 632 (age 63)
Death place	Medina, Arabia
Death cause	Illness
Religion	Muslim
Parents	Father: Abd Allah
Spouse	see below

Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh (;

The Qur'an

Muslims regard the Qur'an as the primary source of knowledge about the historical Muhammad. The Qur'an has a few allusions to Muhammad's life.

Early biographies

Next in importance are historical works by writers of the 3rd and 4th centuries of the Muslim era.

Many scholars accept the accuracy of the earliest biographies, though their accuracy is unascertainable. Recent studies have led scholars to distinguish between the traditions touching legal matters and the purely historical ones. In the former sphere, traditions could have been subject to invention while in the latter sphere, aside from exceptional cases, the material may have been only subject to "tendential shaping". Scholars such as Madelung do not reject the narrations which have been compiled in later periods, but judge them in the context of history and on the basis of their compatibility with the events and figures.

Non-Arabic sources

The earliest Greek source for Muhammad is the 9th-century writer Theophanes. The earliest Syriac source is the 7th-century writer John bar Penkaye. According to Watt, because of the general disregard of the guardians in taking care of weak members of the tribes in Mecca in the 6th century, "Muhammad's guardians saw that he did not starve to death, but it was hard for them to do more for him, especially as the fortunes of the clan of Hashim seem to have been declining at that time." According to tradition, when Muhammad was either nine or twelve while accompanying the Meccans' caravan to Syria, he met a Christian monk or hermit named Bahira who is said to have foreseen Muhammed's career as a prophet of God. It is known that he became a merchant and "was involved in trade between the Indian ocean and the Mediterranean Sea."

Wives and children

Muhammad's life is traditionally defined into two periods: pre-hijra (emigration) in Mecca (from 570 to 622), and post-hijra in Medina (from 622 until 632). Muhammad is said to have had thirteen wives or concubines (there are differing accounts on the status of some of them as wife or concubine Aisha, who became known as Muhammad's favourite wife in Sunni tradition, survived him by many decades and was instrumental in helping to bring together the scattered sayings of Muhammad that would form the Hadith literature for the Sunni branch of Islam.

After migration to Medina, Muhammad (who was now in his fifties) married several women. These marriages were contracted mostly for political or humanitarian reasons, these wives being either widows of Muslims who had been killed in the battles and had been left without a protector, or belonging to important families or clans whom it was necessary to honor and strengthen alliances. Shi'a scholars contend that Fatimah was Muhammad's only daughter. Muhammad was confident that he could distinguish his own thoughts from these messages. Muhammad is not only a warner to those who reject God's revelation, but also a bearer of good news for those who abandon evil, listen to the divine word and serve God.

The key themes of the early Qur'anic verses included the responsibility of man towards his creator; the resurrection of dead, God's final judgment followed by vivid descriptions of the tortures in hell and pleasures in Paradise; and the signs of God in all aspects of life. Religious duties required of the believers at this time were few: belief in God, asking for forgiveness of sins, offering frequent prayers, assisting others particularly those in need, rejecting cheating and the love of wealth (considered to be significant in the commercial life of Mecca), being chaste and not to kill newborn girls.

Opposition

at the Kaaba by Muhammad, in L'Histoire Merveilleuse en Vers de Mahomet, anonymous 11th century illustration.]] According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad's wife Khadija was the first to believe he was a prophet. Around 613, Muhammad began his public preaching (Qur'an ). The powerful merchants tried to convince Muhammad to abandon his preaching by offering him admission into the inner circle of merchants, and establishing his position therein by an advantageous marriage. However, he refused.

Tradition records at great length the persecution and ill-treatment of Muhammad and his followers. Sumayyah bint Khabbab, a slave of Abu Jahl and a prominent Meccan leader, is famous as the first martyr of Islam, having been killed with a spear by her master when she refused to give up her faith. Bilal, another Muslim slave, was tortured by Umayyah ibn Khalaf who placed a heavy rock on his chest to force his conversion.

An early hadith known as "The Story of the Cranes" (translation: قصة الغرانيق, transliteration: Qissat al Gharaneeq) was propagated by two Islamic scholars, Ibn Kathir al Dimashqi and Ibn Hijir al Masri, where the former has strengthened it and the latter called it fabricated Ibn Ishaq, author of the first biography of Muhammad, presents this event as a spiritual experience whereas later historians like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir present it as a physical journey. The recurring slaughters and disagreements over the resulting claims, especially after the Battle of Bu'ath in which all clans were involved, made it obvious to them that the tribal conceptions of blood-feud and an eye for an eye were no longer workable unless there was one man with authority to adjudicate in disputed cases.

Muhammad instructed his followers to emigrate to Medina until virtually all his followers left Mecca. Being alarmed at the departure of Muslims, according to the tradition, the Meccans plotted to assassinate Muhammad. With the help of Ali, Muhammad fooled the Meccans who were watching him, and secretly slipped away from the town with Abu Bakr.

Establishment of a new polity

Among the first things Muhammad did in order to settle down the longstanding grievances among the tribes of Medina was drafting a document known as the Constitution of Medina, "establishing a kind of alliance or federation" among the eight Medinan tribes and Muslim emigrants from Mecca, which specified the rights and duties of all citizens and the relationship of the different communities in Medina (including that of the Muslim community to other communities, specifically the Jews and other "Peoples of the Book"). The community defined in the Constitution of Medina, Ummah, had a religious outlook but was also shaped by practical considerations and substantially preserved the legal forms of the old Arab tribes. It effectively established the first Islamic state.

The first group of pagan converts to Islam in Medina were the clans who had not produced great leaders for themselves but had suffered from warlike leaders from other clans. This was followed by the general acceptance of Islam by the pagan population of Medina, apart from some exceptions. According to Ibn Ishaq, this was influenced by the conversion of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (a prominent Medinan leader) to Islam. Then Muhammad instituted brotherhood between the emigrants and the supporters and he chose Ali as his own brother. The Qur'anic verses of this period, unlike the Meccan ones, dealt with practical problems of government and issues like the distribution of spoils. Following the Battle of Badr, Muhammad also made mutual-aid alliances with a number of Bedouin tribes to protect his community from attacks from the northern part of Hijaz.

Conflict with Mecca

The attack at Badr committed Muhammad to total war with Meccans, who were now anxious to avenge their defeat. To maintain their economic prosperity, the Meccans needed to restore their prestige, which had been lost at Badr. When Muhammad heard of men massing with hostile intentions against Medina, he reacted with severity. During the battle, the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza, located at the south of Medina, had entered into negotiations with Meccan forces to revolt against Muhammad. Although they were swayed by suggestions that Muhammad was sure to be overwhelmed, they desired reassurance in case the confederacy was unable to destroy him. No agreement was reached after the prolonged negotiations, in part due to sabotage attempts by Muhammad's scouts. While returning from one of these (or some years earlier according to other early accounts), an accusation of adultery was made against Aisha, Muhammad's wife. Aisha was exonerated from the accusations when Muhammad announced that he had received a revelation confirming Aisha's innocence and directing that charges of adultery be supported by four eyewitnesses.

Truce of Hudaybiyyah

Although Muhammad had already delivered Qur'anic verses commanding the Hajj, According to Watt, although Muhammad's decision to make the pilgrimage was based on his dream, he was at the same time demonstrating to the pagan Meccans that Islam does not threaten the prestige of their sanctuary, and that Islam was an Arabian religion.

Many Muslims were not satisfied with the terms of the treaty. However, the Qur'anic sura "Al-Fath" (The Victory) (Qur'an ) assured the Muslims that the expedition from which they were now returning must be considered a victorious one.

After signing the truce, Muhammad made an expedition against the Jewish oasis of Khaybar, known as the Battle of Khaybar. This was possibly due to it housing the Banu Nadir, who were inciting hostilities against Muhammad, or to regain some prestige to deflect from what appeared to some Muslims as the inconclusive result of the truce of Hudaybiyya. In the years following the truce of Hudaybiyya, Muhammad sent his forces against the Arabs on Transjordanian Byzantine soil in the Battle of Mu'tah, in which the Muslims were defeated. A clan of the Bakr made a night raid against the Khuza'a, killing a few of them. The Meccans helped the Banu Bakr with weapons and, according to some sources, a few Meccans also took part in the fighting. After this event, Muhammad sent a message to Mecca with three conditions, asking them to accept one of them. These were that either the Meccans paid blood money for those slain among the Khuza'ah tribe; or, that they should disavow themselves of the Banu Bakr; or, that they should declare the truce of Hudaybiyyah null. However, soon they realized their mistake and sent Abu Sufyan to renew the Hudaybiyyah treaty, but now his request was declined by Muhammad.

Muhammad began to prepare for a campaign.

In the same year, Muhammad made the expedition of Tabuk against northern Arabia because of their previous defeat at the Battle of Mu'tah as well as reports of the hostile attitude adopted against Muslims. Although Muhammad did not make contact with hostile forces at Tabuk, he received the submission of some local chiefs of the region. However, the bedouins were alien to the system of Islam and wanted to maintain their independence, their established code of virtue and their ancestral traditions. Muhammad thus required of them a military and political agreement according to which they "acknowledge the suzerainty of Medina, to refrain from attack on the Muslims and their allies, and to pay the Zakat, the Muslim religious levy." Muhammad was forced to return to Mecca. A Meccan man named Mut'im b. Adi (and the protection of the tribe of Banu Nawfal) made it possible for him safely to re-enter his native city.

Many people were visiting Mecca on business or as pilgrims to the Kaaba. Muhammad took this opportunity to look for a new home for himself and his followers. After several unsuccessful negotiations, he found hope with some men from Yathrib (later called Medina). The Arab population of Yathrib were familiar with monotheism because a Jewish community existed there. Converts to Islam came from nearly all Arab tribes in Medina, such that by June of the subsequent year there were seventy-five Muslims coming to Mecca for pilgrimage and to meet Muhammad. Meeting him secretly by night, the group made what was known as the "Second Pledge of al-`Aqaba", or the "Pledge of War"

After completing the pilgrimage, Muhammad delivered a famous speech known as The Farewell Sermon. In this sermon, Muhammad advised his followers not to follow certain pre-Islamic customs such as adding intercalary months to align the lunar calendar with the solar calendar. Muhammad abolished all old blood feuds and disputes based on the former tribal system and asked for all old pledges to be returned as implications of the creation of the new Islamic community. Commenting on the vulnerability of women in his society, Muhammed asked his male followers to “Be good to women; for they are powerless captives (awan) in your households. You took them in God’s trust, and legitimated your sexual relations with the Word of God, so come to your senses people, and hear my words ...”. He also told them that they were entitled to discipline their wives but should do so with kindness. Muhammad also addressed the issue of inheritance by forbidding false claims of paternity or of a client relationship to the deceased and also forbidding his followers to leave their wealth to a testamentary heir. He also upheld the sacredness of four lunar months in each year. According to Shia tafsir, it refers to appointment of Ali ibn Abi Talib at the pond of Khumm as Muhammad's successor, this occurring a few days later when Muslims were returning from Mecca to Medina. Umar ibn al-Khattab, a prominent companion of Muhammad, nominated Abu Bakr, Muhammad's friend and collaborator. Others added their support and Abu Bakr was made the first caliph. This choice was disputed by some of Muhammad's companions, who held that Ali ibn Abi Talib, his cousin and son-in-law, had been designated the successor by Muhammad at Ghadir Khumm. Abu Bakr's immediate task was to make an expedition against the Byzantine (or Eastern Roman Empire) forces because of the previous defeat, although he first had to put down a rebellion by Arab tribes in an episode referred to by later Muslim historians as the Ridda wars, or "Wars of Apostasy". Muhammad's message transformed the society and moral order of life in the Arabian Peninsula through reorientation of society as regards to identity, world view, and the hierarchy of values. The association of rain with mercy in Oriental countries has led to imagining Muhammad as a rain cloud dispensing blessings and stretching over lands, reviving the dead hearts, just as rain revives the seemingly dead earth (see, for example, the Sindhi poem of Shah ʿAbd al-Latif). Muhammad's birthday is celebrated as a major feast throughout the Islamic world, excluding Wahhabi-dominated Saudi Arabia where these public celebrations are discouraged. When Muslims say or write the name of Muhammad or any other prophet in Islam, they usually follow it with Peace be upon him (Arabic: sallAllahu `alayhi wa sallam) like "Muhammad (Peace be upon him)".

According to the Qur'an, Muhammad is only the last of a series of Prophets sent by Allah for the benefit of mankind, and thus commands Muslims to make no distinction between them and to surrender to one God Allah. states that "...it (the Qur'an) is a confirmation of (revelations) that went before it, and a fuller explanation of the Book - wherein there is no doubt - from The Lord of the Worlds.". Similarly states "...And before this was the book of Moses, as a guide and a mercy. And this Book confirms (it)...", while commands the believers of Islam to "Say: we believe in God and that which is revealed unto us, and that which was revealed unto Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received, and which the prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered."

Historian Denis Gril believes that the Qur'an does not overtly describe Muhammad performing miracles, and the supreme miracle of Muhammad is finally identified with the Qur’an itself. Popular European literature of the time portrayed Muhammad as though he were worshipped by Muslims in the manner of an idol or a heathen god. Some medieval Christians believed he died in 666, alluding to the number of the beast, instead of his actual death date in 632; Dante's Divine Comedy (Canto XXVIII), puts Muhammad, together with Ali, in Hell "among the sowers of discord and the schismatics, being lacerated by devils again and again." Cultural critic and author Edward Said wrote in Orientalism regarding Dante's depiction of Muhammad:

Empirical data about the Orient...count for very little; ... What ... Dante tried to do in the Inferno, is ... to characterize the Orient as alien and to incorporate it schematically on a theatrical stage whose audience, manager, and actors are ... only for Europe. Hence the vacillation between the familiar and the alien; Mohammed is always the imposter (familiar, because he pretends to be like the Jesus we know) and always the Oriental (alien, because although he is in some ways "like" Jesus, he is after all not like him). Guillaume Postel was among the first to present a more positive view of Muhammad. Boulainvilliers described Muhammad as a gifted political leader and a just lawmaker. Gottfried Leibniz praised Muhammad because "he did not deviate from the natural religion". Thomas Carlyle defines Muhammed as "A silent great soul, one of that who cannot but be earnest". Later Western works, many of which, from the 18th century onward, distanced themselves from the polemical histories of earlier Christian authors. These more historically oriented treatments, which generally reject the prophethood of Muhammad, are coloured by the Western philosophical and theological framework of their authors. Many of these studies reflect much historical research, and most pay more attention to human, social, economic, and political factors than to religious, theological, and spiritual matters.

It was not until the latter part of the 20th century that Western authors combined rigorous scholarship as understood in the modern West with empathy toward the subject at hand and, especially, awareness of the religious and spiritual realities involved in the study of the life of the founder of a major world religion. According to William Montgomery Watt and Richard Bell, recent writers have generally dismissed the idea that Muhammad deliberately deceived his followers, arguing that Muhammad "was absolutely sincere and acted in complete good faith"

Other religious traditions

Bahá'ís venerate Muhammad as one of a number of prophets or "Manifestations of God", but consider his teachings to have been superseded by those of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahai faith.

Muhammad is regarded as one of the Saints of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not regard Muhammad as a prophet, nor accept the Qur’an as a book of scripture. However, they do respect Muhammad as one who taught moral truths which can enlighten nations and bring a higher level of understanding to individuals. Guru Nanak, a founder of Sikhism, viewed Muhammad as an agent of the Hindu Brahman.

Criticism

Muslims consider Muhammad to be the final prophet, the messenger of the final revelation that he called the Qur’an. However, criticism of Muhammad has existed since the 7th century, for his marriages, military expeditions and the laws he established, such as those concerning slavery.

See also

Arabian tribes that interacted with Muhammad

Glossary of Islamic terms in Arabic

Judaism's view of Muhammad

List of films about Muhammad

List of founders of religious traditions

Mohammad, Messenger of God (aka The Message)

(documentary)

Paraclete

Notes

References

Bibliography

Al-Hibri, Azizah Y. (2003). "An Islamic Perspective on Domestic Violence". 27 Fordham International Law Journal 195.

(New edition 1974)

Encyclopedias

Further reading

Musa, A. Y. Hadith as Scripture: Discussions on The Authority Of Prophetic Traditions in Islam, New York: Palgrave, 2008

External links

Non-Muslim biographies

Muhammad, article on Encyclopædia Britannica Online

Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet — PBS Site

Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet — UPF (Producer's Site)

Muslim biographies

Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum

The Life of Muhammad by Muhammad Husayn Haykal

About the Prophet Muhammad (MSA West)

Category:570s births Category:632 deaths Category:7th-century rulers Category:Arab politicians Category:Founders of religions Category:Islam Category:People from Mecca Category:Quraish Category:Medina Category:Prophets of Islam

Name	Mohamed Atta
Birth date	September 01, 1968
Death date	September 11, 2001
Death place	Manhattan, New York, United States
Birth name	Mohamed Atta (in Arabic: محمد عطا)
Birth place	Kafr el-Sheikh, Egypt
Alma mater	Cairo University Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg

Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta (, Muḥammad Muḥammad al-Āmir ‘Awaḍ as-Sayyid ‘Aṭṭa) (September 1, 1968 – September 11, 2001) was one of the masterminds and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, crashing the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the coordinated attacks.

Early life

Atta was born on September 1, 1968 in Kafr el-Sheikh, located in Egypt's Nile delta region. For several months after graduating, Atta worked at the Urban Development Center in Cairo, where he worked on architectural, planning, and building design. Atta initially stayed with the two high school teachers, but they found Atta frustrating due to his closed-mindedness and intensely introverted personality. As well, Atta began adhering to a strict Islamic diet, frequented the mosque, seldom socialized, and was unfriendly towards the couple's unmarried daughter who had a young child. After six months, they asked him to move out. For his thesis, Atta focused his studies on the ancient city of Aleppo in Syria. He explored the history of Aleppo's urban landscapes and the general themes of the conflict between Arab civilization and modernity. Atta criticized how the modern skyscrapers and development projects in Aleppo were disrupting the fabric of that city by blocking community streets and altering the skyline.

In 1994, Atta's professor, Dittmar Machule, invited him to Aleppo for a three-day archaeological visit. During the summer of 1995, Atta spent three months with co-students Volker Hauth and Ralph Bodenstein in Cairo, on a grant from the Carl Duisberg Society. They looked at the effects of redevelopment in the Islamic Cairo old quarter which the government wanted to develop for tourism. Atta remained in Cairo to stay with his family, after Hauth and Bodenstein returned to Germany. and joined the Hajj in Mecca that fall.

In Hamburg, Atta was drawn to al-Quds Mosque, which adhered to a "harsh, uncompromisingly fundamentalist, and resoundingly militant" version of Sunni Islam. This was the day that Israel attacked Lebanon in Operation Grapes of Wrath, which outraged Atta. Signing the will, "offering his life" was Atta's response. The instructions in his last will and testament reflect both Sunni funeral practices, along with some more puritanical demands from Wahhabism, including asking people not "to weep and cry" or show emotion. The will was signed by el-Motassadeq and a second individual at the mosque.

By the summer of 1998, Atta was no longer eligible for university housing in Centrumshaus. He left that summer and moved into a nearby apartment in Wilhelmsburg, where he lived with Said Bahaji and Ramzi Binalshibh. By spring 1999, Atta had completed his thesis, and formally defended it in August 1999. When they arrived, they were spotted by Al Qaeda leader Abu Hafs as suitable candidates for the "planes operation" plot. They were all well-educated, had experience living in western society, along with some English skills, and would be able to obtain visas. Immediately after returning to Germany, Atta, Shehhi, and Jarrah reported their passports stolen, possibly to erase travel visas to Afghanistan. Atta and Shehhi established accounts at SunTrust Bank and received wire transfers from Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's nephew in the United Arab Emirates. On July 6, 2000, Atta and Shehhi enrolled at Huffman Aviation in Venice, Florida, where they entered the Accelerated Pilot Program, while Ziad Jarrah took flight training from a different school also based out of Venice. When Atta and Shehhi arrived in Florida, they initially stayed with Huffman's bookkeeper and his wife in a spare room of their house. After a week, they were asked to leave because they were rude. Atta and Shehhi then moved into a small house nearby in Nokomis where they stayed for six months.

Atta continued with flight training, including solo flights and simulator time. On December 22, Atta and Shehhi applied to Eagle International for large jet and simulator training for McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 737–300 models. On December 26, Atta and Shehhi abandoned a Piper Cherokee that had stalled on the runway of Miami International Airport. On December 29 and 30, Atta and Marwan went to the Opa-locka Airport where they practiced on a Boeing 727 simulator, and they obtained Boeing 767 simulator training from Pan Am International on December 31. As well, Atta purchased flight deck videos for Boeing 747–200, Boeing 757–200, Airbus A320 and Boeing 767-300ER models via mail-order from Sporty's Pilot Shop in Batavia, Ohio in November and December 2000.

Atta's cellphone was recorded phoning the Moroccan embassy in Washington on January 2, just before Shehhi flew to the country. Atta flew to Spain on January 4, 2001 to coordinate with Binalshibh and returned to the United States on January 10. While in the United States he traveled to Lawrenceville, Georgia, where he and Shehhi attended a Gold's Health Club. During that time Atta flew out of Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville with a pilot, and Atta and either the pilot or Shehhi flew around the Atlanta area. They lived in the area for several months. On April 3, Atta and Shehhi rented a postal box in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

On April 11, Atta and Shehhi rented an apartment at 10001 Atlantic Blvd, Apt. 122 in Coral Springs, Florida for $840 per month, The absence of other hotel stays, signed receipts or credit card stubs has led investigators to believe that the men may have met in a safe house provided by other al-Qaeda operatives in Spain. There, Atta and Binalshibh held a meeting to complete the planning of the attacks. Several clues have been found to link their stay in Spain to Syrian-born Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas (Abu Dahdah), and Amer el Azizi, a Moroccan in Spain. They may have helped arrange and host the meeting in Tarragona.

From July 13 to 16, Atta stayed at the Hotel Sant Jordi in Tarragona. After Binalshibh returned to Germany on July 16, 2001, Atta had three more days in Spain. He spent two nights in Salou at the beachside Casablanca Playa Hotel, then spent the last two nights at the Hotel Residencia Montsant.

August 2001 final plans in U.S.

On July 22, 2001, Mohamed Atta rented a Mitsubishi Galant from Alamo Rent A Car, putting 3,836 miles on the vehicle before returning it on July 26. On July 25, Atta dropped Ziad Jarrah off at Miami International Airport for a flight he had back to Germany. On July 26, Atta traveled via Continental Airlines to Newark, New Jersey and checked into the Kings Inn Hotel in Wayne, New Jersey and stayed there until July 30 when he took a flight from Newark back to Fort Lauderdale.

On August 4, Atta is believed to have been at Orlando International Airport waiting to pick up suspected "20th Hijacker" Mohammed al Qahtani from Dubai, who ended up being held by immigration as "suspicious." Atta was believed to have used a payphone at the airport to phone a number "linked to al-Qaeda" after Qahtani was denied entry. Atta traveled twice to Las Vegas on "surveillance flights" rehearsing how the 9/11 attacks would be carried out. Other hijackers traveled to Las Vegas at different times in the summer of 2001.

Throughout the summer, Atta met with Nawaf al-Hazmi to discuss the status of the operation on a monthly basis.

Because the flight from Portland to Boston had been delayed,

Mistaken identity

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, names of the hijackers were released. There was some confusion regarding who Mohamed Atta was, and cases of mistaken identity. Initially, Mohamed Atta's identity was confused with that of a native Jordanian, Mahmoud Mahmoud Atta, who bombed a bus in 1986 on the Israeli-occupied West Bank, killing one and severely injuring three. Mahmoud Atta was 14 years older than Atta. However, Atta flew on US Airways Flight 2719 to Baltimore on September 7 from Fort Lauderdale.

Prague controversy

In the months following the September 11 attacks, officials at the Czech Interior Ministry asserted that Atta made a trip to Prague on April 8, 2001 to meet with an Iraqi intelligence agent named Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani. This piece of information was passed on to the FBI as "unevaluated raw intelligence". Atta Sr. rejected media reports his son was drinking wildly, and instead described his son as a quiet boy uninvolved in politics, shy and devoted to studying architecture. The elder Mr. Atta claimed to have spoken with Mohamed by phone two days after the air crashes of the September 11. He held interviews with the German news magazine Bild am Sonntag in late 2002 claiming his son is alive, and in hiding. However, Atta Sr. has also stated "My son is gone. He is now with God. The Mossad killed him."

Notes

References

Four Corners, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, broadcast November 12, 2001

The 9/11 Commission Report, (W.W. Norton & Company) ISBN 0-393-32671-3

External links

Interviews with those who interacted with Atta prior to 9/11 from Australian ABC TV's "A Mission To Die For" TV programme

October 2001 interview with Dittmar Machule – Machule was Atta's thesis supervisor at the University of Hamburg-Harburg

Atta's will, written in 1996

Atta's Odyssey – October 2001 biography of Atta printed in Time Magazine

Category:Cairo University alumni Category:Egyptian al-Qaeda members Category:Participants in the September 11 attacks Category:1968 births Category:2001 deaths

Region	Pakistani scholar
Era	Modern era
Color	#B0C4DE
Image name	Jgham.jpg
Name	Javed Ahmad Ghamidi
Birth date	April 18, 1951
School tradition	Farahi-Islahi
Main interests	Islamic law and Quranic exegesis
Influences	Amin Ahsan Islahi, Hamiduddin Farahi, Abul Ala Maududi
Notable ideas	Separation of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) from Sharia (Divine law); Clear delineation of rules governing the primary sources of religion; Complete framework for study of Islam

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (Urdu: جاوید احمد غامدی) (born 1951) is a well-known Pakistani Muslim theologian, Koran scholar and exegete, and educationist. A former member of the Jamaat-e-Islami, who extended the work of his tutor, Amin Ahsan Islahi. He is a member of Council of Islamic Ideology since January 28, 2006, He is running an intellectual movement similar to Wastiyya in Egypt on the popular electronic media of Pakistan. In Ghamidi’s arguments, there is no reference to the Western sources, human rights or current philosophies of crime and punishment. He comes to conclusions which are similar to those of Islamic modernists on the subject, but he never goes out of the traditional framework.

Early life

Ghamidi was born on April 18, 1951 in a peasant family of Kakazai tribe from Jiwan Shah near Lahore, Pakistan. His early education included a modern path (Matriculation from Islamia High School, Pakpattan in 1967), as well as a traditional path (Arabic and Persian languages, and the Qur'an with Mawlawi Nur Ahmad of Nang Pal). He later graduated from Government College, Lahore, with a BA Honours in English in 1972.

In his book, Maqamat (مقامات), Ghamidi starts with an essay "My Name" (میرا نام) to describe the story behind his surname, that sounds somewhat alien in the context of the Indian Subcontinent. He describes a desire during his early years to establish a name linkage to his late grandfather Noor Elahi, after learning of his status as the one people of the area turned to, to resolve disputes. This reputation also led to his (grandfather's) reputation as a peacemaker (مصلح). Subsequently, one of the visiting sufi friends of his father narrated a story of the patriarch of the Arab tribe Banu Ghamid who earned the reputation of being a great peacemaker. He writes, that the temporal closeness of these two events clicked in his mind and he decided to add the name Ghamidi to his given name, Javed Ahmed.

Jihad

Ghamidi believes that there are certain directives of the Qur’an pertaining to war which were specific only to the Prophet Muhammad and certain specified peoples of his times (particularly the progeny of Abraham: the Ishmaelites, the Israelites, and the Nazarites). Thus, the Prophet and his designated followers waged a war against Divinely specified peoples of their time (the polytheists and the Israelites and Nazarites of Arabia and some other Jews, Christians, et al.) as a form of Divine punishment and asked the polytheists of Arabia for submission to Islam as a condition for exoneration and the others for jizya and submission to the political authority of the Muslims for exemption from death punishment and for military protection as the dhimmis of the Muslims. Therefore, after the Prophet and his companions, there is no concept in Islam obliging Muslims to wage war for propagation or implementation of Islam. The only valid basis for jihad through arms is to end oppression when all other measures have failed.

Social laws

Head covering for women is a cherished part of Muslim social custom and tradition, but it is not a directive of the shariah (Divine law). The Qur'an states norms for male-female interaction in surah An-Nur. Ceteris paribus (all other things being equal), a woman's testimony is equal to that of a man's.

Sources of Islam

All that is Islam is constituted by the Qur'an and Sunnah. Nothing besides these two is Islam or can be regarded as its part. Unlike Quran and Sunnah, ahadith only explain and elucidate what is contained in these two sources and also describe the exemplary way in which Muhammad followed Islam. The Sharia is distinguished from fiqh, the latter being collections of interpretations and applications of the Sharia by Muslim jurists. Fiqh is characterized as a human exercise, and therefore subject to human weakness and differences of opinion. A Muslim is not obliged to adhere to a school of fiqh.

Views on Ghamidi

Although he is famous scholar yet he earned a vast criticism by various Muslim scholars for his personal and subjective interpretation of many Islamic values.

Morals & Ethics

Ghamidi is known for his stress on morals and ethics in Islam. He has raised concerns on moral and ethical issues in Muslims.

A translated snippet from his book "Ikhlaqiyat":

Resignation from Council of Islamic Ideology

Javed Ahmed Ghamidi resigned in September 2006 a constitutional body responsible for providing legal advice on Islamic issues to the Pakistani government. His resignation was rejected by the President of Pakistan. Ghamidi's resignation was prompted by the Pakistani government's formation of a separate committee of ulema to review a Bill involving women's rights; the committee was formed after extensive political pressure was applied by the MMA. Ghamidi argued that this was a breach of the CII's jurisdiction, since the very purpose of the council is to ensure that Pakistan's laws do not conflict with the teachings of Islam. He also said that the amendments in the bill proposed by the Ulema committee were against the injunctions of Islam. This event occurred when the MMA threatened to resign from the provincial and national assemblies if the government amended the Hudood Ordinance, which came into being under Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization. The Hudood Ordinances have been criticised for, among other things, insisting upon an exceptionally difficult and dangerous procedure to prove allegations of rape.

Media

Ghamidi had appeared on several TV Channels and appears regularly on dedicated programs. His television audience consists of educated, urban-based middle-class men between the ages of 20-35, as well as lay Islamic intellectuals and professionals. Ghamidi's religiously oriented audience tends to be dissatisfied with the positions of traditional ulema and Western-eudcated secular-liberal elite, and find his interventions and ideas more sensible, moderate, and relevant.

Alif on Geo Tv (In multiple airings)

Ghamidi on Geo Tv (First season while the second season is on schedule)

Live with Ghamidi on AAJ Tv (Usually Q/A format but with occasional special programs)

*AAJ Tv also airs other Islamic programs by Javed Ahmad Ghamidi and his associates.

And other channels like PTV.

Al-Mawrid has video recording setup of its own. http://www.al-mawrid.org/

Ghamidi on the Taliban's Islamism

Ghamidi is one of the Pakistani religious scholars who, from the beginning, has been opposing this kind of Islamism. One of his recent essays on this subject Islam and the Taliban

Bibliography

Primary sources

Al-Mawrid Website

Al-Mawrid International

Al-Mawrid Multimedia

— A comprehensive treatise on the contents of Islam — A dissertation in which contemporary religious thoughts have been critically analyzed -- An annotated translation of the Divine message with a view to unfold its coherence

Secondary Sources

Notes

See also

Al-Mawrid

Dr Muhammad Farooq Khan

Islamic scholars

Amin Ahsan Islahi

Khalid Masud

Mizan

Tadabbur-i-Qur’an

Contemporary Islamic philosophy

Islamism

External links

Profile:

Link for Al-Mawrid website that contains all of the Javed Ahmed Ghamidi lectures:

TV talk shows with Javed Ahmed Ghamidi:

Debate on Hudood Ordinance:

Books written by Ghamidi

Articles available on the internet written by Javed Ahmed Ghamidi.

Ghamidi's criticism on Arm forces in politics (Urdu).

Resignation of Javed Ahmed Ghamidi from CII; The News International

The Fundamentalist Moderate; The Boston Globe

The extremist case for Islamic moderation; Robin Moroney(Columbia University)

An Islamic fundamentalist we can support; Dinesh D'Souza(Stanford University)

Audio and Video debates and lectures:

Ghamidi views on Ahmadiyya/Qadianism

Category:Islamic studies scholars Category:Muslim scholars Category:Pakistani educators Category:Pashtun people Category:Pakistani scholars Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:People from Lahore

Chaudhry Ahmad Saeed is the former chairman of the Pakistan's National Carrier, Pakistan International Airlines. He resigned that position in 2005.

He currently serves as a chairman and director for Servis Industries, Pakistan-based conglomerate dealing in manufacturing and retailing of footwear and textiles. His brother Ahmad Mukhtar is cabinet member from Pakistan Peoples Party. He is also currently the Defence Minister of Pakistan and chairman of Pakistan International Airlines.

References

Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people