Mohammad Salman Hamdani

Mohammad Salman Hamdani
Born	December 28, 1977
Died	September 11, 2001 (aged 23)

Mohammad Salman Hamdani (December 28, 1977 – September 11, 2001) was a Muslim American who died at the World Trade Center in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks (9/11).

Early life

Hamdani was born in Karachi, Pakistan and moved to America with his parents when he was only 13 months old. He had two younger brothers, Adnaan and Zeshan, who were born in the US. His mother Talat taught English at a middle school in Queens and his father Saleem was the owner and operator of a convenience store in Brooklyn.^[1]

He was on his high school's football team in Bayside, Queens where he lived.^[2] He majored in chemistry at Queens College and graduated in June 2001.^{[Note 1]} In July he started employment as a research technician at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute of Rockefeller University in the Protein/DNA Technology Center, and additionally had a part time job driving an ambulance.^[2][3] He was an NYFD-certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)^[4] and a New York City Police Department cadet.^[5] The night before 9/11 he was working on an application for medical school and helping his father cope with heart disease.^[1]

September 11 attacks

It was believed that on the morning of September 11, 2001, while on the way to work at Rockefeller University, Hamdani witnessed the smoke coming from the Twin Towers and hurried to the scene to aid victims, using his police and EMT identification to get a ride through the restricted traffic.^{[Note 2]} He died in the World Trade Center and his remains were found in the rubble of the North Tower.^[1]

At first Hamdani was listed as missing and there were media reports that he was under investigation as being possibly involved in the attack.^{[4][6][7][8][9]} In October 2001 an unidentified body along with Hamdani's medical bag and identification were found at Ground Zero, the site of the destroyed World Trade Center. His body was not yet positively identified by DNA profiling.^[5] He was declared a hero by Congress that October, 45 days after the attacks.^[6] Specifically, he is mentioned in the USA PATRIOT Act, Title 1 in section 102 (titled "Sense of Congress condemning discrimination against Arab and Muslim Americans"), which states that:

Many Arab Americans and Muslim Americans have acted heroically during the attacks on the United States, including Mohammed Salman Hamdani, a 23-year-old New Yorker of Pakistani descent, who is believed to have gone to the World Trade Center to offer rescue assistance and is now missing.^[10]

Months later in March 2002, his remains were identified^[3] and shortly afterwards on April 5, 2002 at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York, he was memorialized as a hero by Mayor Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Kelly, Congressman Ackerman and 500 others.^[5][6][11] A memorial scholarship fund in his name, for outstanding Pakistani-American students, was created at Rockefeller University in 2002 by his mother Talat Hamdani.^[3] The 2002 film 11'9"01 September 11 has an 11 minute segment India that is a docu-drama based on Mohammed Salman Hamdani and his family.^[12]

On March 10, 2011, Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, in his testimony before the House of Representatives’ Committee on Homeland Security for its hearing on “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and That Community’s Response”, cited Mr. Hamdani as being falsely accused of being involved in the WTC attacks only because he was a Muslim.^[13][14]

At the National 9/11 Memorial, Hamdani is memorialized at the South Pool, on Panel S-66.^[15]

Notes

1. ^ A picture of Hamdani in the chemistry lab can be found at http://qcpages.qc.edu/~whersh/whh2004sal.html . Note that his research work was included in the article mentioned there: William H. Hersh, Ping Xu, Cheslan K. Simpson, Jonathan Grob, Brian Bickford, Mohammad Salman Hamdani, Thomas Wood, and Arnold L. Rheingold (2004) "Synthesis and Structural Characterization of Trivalent Amino Acid Derived Chiral Phosphorus Compounds". J. Org. Chem., 69 (6), pp 2153–2163. PMID 15058965
2. ^ See red "A" in each of the following linked maps for the location of Bayside, Queens, NY where Hamdani lived; Rockefeller University, where he worked; and the site of the destroyed World Trade Center where he went to aid victims and died.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Shane, Scott (September 11, 2002) Out of loss, a struggle for meaning The Baltimore Sun.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Mohammad Salman Hamdani: An All-American Jedi". (March 9, 2003) The New York Times.
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Rockefeller University Announces Scholarship Fund in Name of Employee Who Died at World Trade Center". (April 8, 2002) Office of Communications and Public Affairs, The Rockefeller University.
4. ^ ^{a b} "Mother of a Muslim Patriot: Mohammad Salman Hamdani". (March 17, 2011) The Muslim Observer.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Fenner, Austin (April 6, 2002) "Muslim Cop Cadet Mourned". Daily News.
6. ^ ^{a b c} Schabner, Dean (June 29, 2005) "Debate Heats Up Over 'Sunsetting' Parts of Patriot Act". ABC News.
7. ^ Shaffer, Matthew (March 10, 2011) "Rep. Keith Ellison’s Bigotry". National Review Online.
8. ^ Dwyer, Jim and Wakin, Daniel J. (October 12, 2001) "Absent Police Cadet Sought After Disappearance". The New York Times.
9. ^ Gorta, William J. and Crittle, Simon (October 12, 2001) "Missing - or Hiding? - Mystery of NYPD Cadet from Pakistan". New York Post.
10. ^ Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001 Sec. 102 (a) (6), p. 276, PUBLIC LAW 107 - 56.
11. ^ Brown, Laura J. (April 15, 2002) Muslim American Hero of September 11 Remembered Washington File, Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.
12. ^ 11.09.01 Mirabai Films.
13. ^ Congressman Ellison's Testimony To The House Committee On Homeland Security - As Prepared For Delivery (March 10, 2011) Congressman Keith Ellison 5th District of Minnesota.
14. ^ CHS (2011) Committee on Homeland Security Hearing (The part of Congressman Ellison's testimony about Hamdani begins at 33:50 of video.)
15. ^ Mohammad Salman Hamdani. Memorial Guide: National 9/11 Memorial. Retrieved October 28, 2011.

External Links

• Location of Mohammad Salman Hamdani's name on the 9/11 Memorial

Persondata
Name	Hamdani, Mohammad Salman
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 28, 1977
Place of birth
Date of death	September 11, 2001
Place of death