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Line 31: Atta was born on September 1, 1968 in [[Kafr el-Sheikh Governorate|Kafr el-Sheikh]], located in [[United Arab Republic|Egypt]]'s [[Nile Delta]] region.<ref name="hooper"/> His father, Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta, was a lawyer, educated in both [[sharia]] and [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]]. His mother, Bouthayna Mohamed Mustapha Sheraqi, came from a wealthy farming and trading family and was also educated. Bouthayna and Mohamed married when she was 14, via an [[arranged marriage]]. The family had few relatives on the father's side and kept a distance from Bouthayna's family. In-laws characterized Atta's father as "austere, strict, and private," and neighbors considered the family reclusive.<ref name="mcdermott-p9">McDermott (2005), p. 9-11</ref> Atta was the only son; he had two older sisters who are both well-educated and successful in their careers—one as a medical doctor and the other as a professor.<ref name="cloud">{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101011008-176917,00.html |title=Atta's Odyssey |work=Time |date=September 30, 2001 |author=Cloud, John |accessdate=September 16, 2008}}</ref> When Atta was ten, his family moved to the Cairo neighborhood of Abdeen, located near the center of the city. Atta's father continued to keep the family private, and did not allow Atta to socialize with other neighborhood children. Atta spent most of his time at home studying, and he excelled in school.<ref name="mcdermott-p12">McDermott (2005), p. 12-14</ref><ref name="abc-20011112">{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/atta/transcript.htm |title=Transcript: A Mission to Die For |publisher=Four Corners / ABC (Australia) |date=November 12, 2001 |accessdate=September 16, 2008}}</ref> In 1985, Atta entered [[Cairo University]], where he studied engineering. Atta was one of the highest-scoring students, and during his senior year he was admitted into the very selective architecture program. In 1990, Atta graduated with a degree in architecture<ref name="newsweek">{{cite news |title=The Day That Changed America |work=Newsweek |date=December 31, 2001}}</ref> and joined the [[Muslim Brotherhood]]-affiliated Engineers Syndicate organization.<ref name="hooper"/> He then worked for several months at the Urban Development Center in Cairo, where he undertook tasks on architectural, planning, and building design.<ref name="timeline">{{cite web |url=http://www.911myths.com/index.php/File:Hijackers_Timeline_OCR.pdf |title=Hijackers' Timeline |author=Federal Bureau of Investigation |publisher=9/11 Myths |date=February 4, 2008 |accessdate=August 1, 2008 |format=PDF |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607150225/http://www.911myths.com/index.php/File:Hijackers_Timeline_OCR.pdf |archivedate=June 7, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> In 1990, Atta's family moved into an 11th floor apartment in [[Giza]].<ref name="newsweek"/><ref>{{cite news |title=In Egypt, some see war on terror as a war on Islam |author=Adams, Paul |work=Globe and Mail |location=Canada |date=September 4, 2002 |url=http://www.ctv.ca/special/sept11/hubs/muslim/adams.html}}</ref> == Germany == Line 55: In Hamburg, Atta was drawn to [[Al-Quds Mosque Hamburg|al-Quds Mosque]], which adhered to a "harsh, uncompromisingly fundamentalist, and resoundingly militant" version of Sunni Islam.<ref>McDermott (2005), p. 2-3</ref> He made acquaintances at al-Quds, some of whom visited him at Centrumshaus. He also began teaching classes at Al-Quds, as well as at a Turkish mosque near the [[Harburg, Hamburg|Harburg]] district. Atta also formed a prayer group, which Ahmed Maklat and [[Mounir El Motassadeq]] joined. [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]] was also there teaching occasional classes, and became Atta's friend.<ref name="mcdermott-p34">McDermott (2005), p. 34-37</ref> On April 11, 1996, Atta signed his [[Will (law)|last will and testament]]<!-- it was apparently a "standardized" will from Al-Quds, according to Lawrence Wright//--> at the mosque, officially declaring his Muslim beliefs and giving 18 instructions regarding his burial.<ref name="will"/><ref name="fouda">Fouda and Fielding (2003), p. 77</ref> This was the day that [[Israel]] attacked [[Lebanon]] in [[1996 Lebanon war|Operation Grapes of Wrath]], which outraged Atta. Signing the will, "offering his life" was Atta's response.<ref name="wright"/> The instructions in his last will and testament reflect both [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] funeral practices, along with some more puritanical demands from [[Salafism]], 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://old.911digitalarchive.org/crr/documents/1017.pdf |title=Will Gives a Window into Suspect's Mind |author=Finn, Peter and Charles Lane |work=Washington Post and 9/11 Digital Archive |date=October 6, 2001 |format=PDF |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228003140/http://old.911digitalarchive.org/crr/documents/1017.pdf |archivedate=February 28, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> After leaving Plankontor in the summer of 1997, Atta disappeared again and did not return until 1998. Atta phoned his graduate advisor in 1998, after a year of doing nothing for his thesis, telling Machule that he had family problems at home and said, “Please understand, I don’t want to talk about this.”<ref>{{cite news |title=In hindsight, more suspicion called for; Hamburg was early hotbed for plotters |work=Chicago Tribune |date=September 21, 2001 |author=Sly, Liz}}</ref><ref name="McDermott 2005, Chapter 5">McDermott (2005), Chapter 5</ref> At the winter break in 1997,<!-- clarify time, Dec 1997-1998? //--> Atta left and did not return to Hamburg for three months. He said that he went on pilgrimage to [[Mecca]] again, just 18 months after his first time. [[Terry McDermott (journalist)|Terry McDermott]] explained in ''Perfect Soldiers'' that it is highly unusual and unlikely for someone, especially a young student, to go on [[Hajj]] again that soon. Also, three months is an exceptionally long time, much longer than what [[Hajj]] requires. When Atta returned, he claimed that his passport was lost and got a new one, which is a common tactic to erase evidence of travel to places such as [[Afghanistan]].<ref name="mcdermott-p57">McDermott (2005), p. 57</ref> When he returned in spring 1998, after disappearing for several months, he had grown a thick long beard, and "seemed more serious and aloof" to those who knew him.<ref name="Washpost"/> Line 84: Records on Atta's cellphone indicated that he phoned 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 bin al-Shibh and returned to the United States on January 10. While in the United States he traveled to [[Lawrenceville, Georgia]], where he and Shehhi visited a LA Fitness 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,<ref> On June 27, Atta flew from [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida|Fort Lauderdale]] to [[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]], where he spent a day, and then continued to San Francisco for a short time, and from there to [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]]. On June 28, Atta arrived at [[McCarran International Airport]] in Las Vegas to meet with the three other pilots. He rented a [[Chevrolet Malibu]] from an [[Alamo Rent A Car]] agency. It is not known where he stayed that night, but on the 29th he registered at the Econo Lodge at 1150 South [[Las Vegas Boulevard]]. Here he presented an [[American Automobile Association|AAA]] membership for a discount, and paid cash for the $49.50/night room. During his trip to Las Vegas, he is thought to have used a video camera that he had rented from a Select Photo outlet back in [[Delray Beach, Florida]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2001/Sep-29-Sat-2001/news/17113504.html |title=Algerian accused in Britain of training hijackers |publisher=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=November 29, 2001 |accessdate=September 16, 2008}}</ref> Line 106: Throughout the summer, Atta met with [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]] to discuss the status of the operation on a monthly basis.<ref name="lats">Los Angeles Times, [http://articles.latimes.com/2002/sep/27/nation/na-intel27 Document links al Qaeda paymaster, 9/11 plotter], September 27, 2002</ref> On August 23, Atta's driver license was revoked [[trial in absentia|''in absentia'']] after he failed to show up in [[traffic court]] to answer the earlier citation for driving without a license.<ref>[http://newsmine.org/archive/9-11/flight-schools/hijackers-traced-to-huffman-aviation.txt NewsMine.org – hijackers traced to huffman aviation.txt] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051228121415/http://newsmine.org/archive/9-11/flight-schools/hijackers-traced-to-huffman-aviation.txt |date=December 28, 2005 }}</ref><!--{{Dubious|date=November 2008}} Newsmine is a dubious source //--> On the same day, Israeli [[Mossad]] reportedly gave his name to the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] as part of a list of 19 names they said were planning an attack in the near future. Only four of the names are known for certain, the others being Marwan al-Shehhi, Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/europe/2294487.stm |title=Report details US 'intelligence failures |publisher=BBC News |author=Broomby, Rob |date=October 2, 2002 |accessdate=September 16, 2008}}</ref> On August 30 he was recorded purchasing a utility knife from a [[Wal-Mart]] store near the hotel where he stayed prior to 9/11.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}} == September 11 attacks and death == Line 127: == Mistaken identity == In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the 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 [[Jordan]]ian, [[Mahmoud Mahmoud Atta]], who bombed an Israeli bus in the [[West Bank]] in 1986, killing one and severely injuring three. Mahmoud Atta was 14 years older than Atta.<ref name="ADL2001">{{cite web |publisher=Anti-Defamation League |url=http://www.adl.org/rumors/atta%5Frumors.asp |title=A Case of Mistaken Identity: Mohammad Atta Not Linked to Bus Bombing |accessdate=September 16, 2008 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917063644/http://www.adl.org/rumors/atta_rumors.asp |archivedate=September 17, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><!-- better source needed //--> Mahmoud Atta, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was subsequently deported from [[Venezuela]] to the United States, extradited to Israel, tried and sentenced to life in prison. The Israeli Supreme Court later overturned his extradition and set him free.<ref>{{cite news |author=O'Sullivan, Arieh |work=Jerusalem Post |title=Internet rumors aside, WTC attacker not held by Israel |date=November 8, 2001 |accessdate=September 16, 2008}}</ref> After 9/11, there also were reports stating that Mohamed Atta had attended International Officers School at [[Maxwell Air Force Base]] in [[Montgomery, Alabama]]. ''[[The Washington Post]]'' quoted a [[United States Air Force]] official who explained, "discrepancies in their biographical data, such as birth dates 20 years off, indicate we are probably not talking about the same people."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A38270-2001Sep15?language=printer |title=2nd Witness Arrested; 25 Held for Questioning |author=Gugliotta, Guy and David S. Fallis |work=The Washington Post |date=September 15, 2001 |accessdate=September 16, 2008 | page=A29 | archivedate=March 31, 2009 Line 147: | archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-dyn%2Fcontent%2Farticle%2F2006%2F09%2F21%2FAR2006092101831.html&date=2009-03-31 | archivedate=March 31, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="oig">{{cite web |url=http://www.dodig.mil/fo/foia/ERR/r_H05L97905217-PWH.pdf |title=Office Inspector General's Report |publisher=Department of Defense |date=September 18, 2006 |accessdate=September 29, 2008 |format=PDF |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216064401/http://www.dodig.mil/fo/foia/ERR/r_H05L97905217-PWH.pdf |archivedate=February 16, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Five witnesses who had worked on [[Able Danger]] and had been questioned by the Defense Department's Inspector General later told investigative journalists that their statements to the IG were distorted by investigators in the final IG's report, or the report omitted essential information that they had provided. The alleged [[Able Danger#Alleged evidence of IG cover-up|distortions of the IG report]] centered around excluding any evidence that [[Able Danger]] had identified and tracked Atta years before 9/11.<ref name="foxnews.com">{{cite news |first=Catherine |last=Herridge |url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/10/04/exclusive-witnesses-defense-department-report-suggest-cover-findings/ |title=Exclusive: Witnesses in Defense Dept. Report Suggest Cover-Up of 9/11 Findings |work=Fox News |date=October 4, 2010 |accessdate=June 11, 2015}}</ref> Line 158: == Motivation == There are multiple, conflicting explanations for Atta's behavior and motivation. [[Political]] [[psychologist]], Jerrold Post, has suggested that Atta and his fellow hijackers were just following orders from [[al-Qaeda]] leadership, "and whatever their destructive, charismatic leader [[Osama bin Laden]] said was the right thing to do for the sake of the cause was what they would do."<ref>Weaver, Carolyn. (October 6, 2004). [http://www.militaryinfo.com/news_story.cfm?textnewsid=2149 “New video shows 9/11 hijackers Mohammed Atta, Ziad Jarrah at Al-Qaida meeting.”] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929172646/http://www.militaryinfo.com/news_story.cfm?textnewsid=2149 |date=September 29, 2011 }} Voice of America News.</ref> In turn, political [[scientist]], Robert Pape, has claimed that Atta was motivated by his commitment to the political cause, that he was psychologically normal, and that he was “not readily characterized as depressed, not unable to enjoy life, not detached from friends and society.”<ref>Pape, Robert. (2005). ''Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism'', New York: Random House, p. 220</ref> By contrast, criminal justice professor, Adam Lankford, has found evidence that indicated Atta was [[suicidal]], and that his struggles with social isolation, [[Depression (mood)|depression]], guilt, shame, hopelessness, and rage were extraordinarily similar to the struggles of those who commit conventional suicide and [[murder-suicide]]. By this view, Atta’s political and religious beliefs affected the method of his suicide and his choice of target, but they were not the underlying causes of his behavior.<ref>Lankford, Adam. (2013). The Myth of Martyrdom: What Really Drives Suicide Bombers, Rampage Shooters, and Other Self-Destructive Killers. {{ISBN|978-0-23-034213-2}}</ref> == See also == | |||
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