Mohamed Atta

Mohamed Atta (September 1, 1968 – September 11, 2001) was an Egyptian engineer and architect. He helped plan very bad actions against others.

Atta was born and grew up in Egypt. He studied architecture at Cairo University and later went to Germany to study more. While in Germany, he met some other people who shared his ideas.

Before the attacks on September 11, 2001, Atta traveled to meet leaders of a group called al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. He also learned to fly planes in the United States. He helped plan the details of the attacks.

On September 11, 2001, Atta and others took control of a plane called American Airlines Flight 11 and flew it into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. Many people sadly lost their lives because of these actions.

Aliases

Main article: Arabic name

Mohamed Atta used many different names on documents. Some of these names include "Mehan Atta", "Mohammad El Amir", and "Muhammad Atta". In Germany, he registered as "Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta" and used the name Mohamed el-Amir at the Hamburg University of Technology. He also sometimes said he was from the United Arab Emirates instead of being Egyptian.

Early life

Mohamed Atta was born on September 1, 1968, in Kafr el-Sheikh, a town in the Nile Delta area of Egypt. His father was a lawyer, and his mother came from a family that was wealthy and involved in farming and trading. They married when his mother was very young, and the family was known for being private. Atta was their only son and had two older sisters.

When Atta was ten, his family moved to a neighborhood in Cairo close to the city center. He grew up studying a lot at home because his father did not want him to play much with other children. He was very good at school and later went to Cairo University, where he studied engineering and then architecture. After finishing school, he worked on building projects in Cairo. Later, he got engaged.

Germany

Mohamed Atta finished his studies at Cairo University but did not have good enough marks to continue. His father wanted him to study in Germany, so Atta began learning German in Cairo. In 1992, a German couple invited him to study in Germany, and he arrived there in July.

In Germany, Atta joined the urban planning program at Hamburg University of Technology. He first stayed with two teachers but later moved into university housing. During this time, he kept to himself and focused on his studies and religious practices.

Atta became more involved in religious activities after moving to Hamburg. He was upset about certain policies of the United States and his home country of Egypt. He met other people who shared his views, and they began planning together. Later, Atta traveled to Afghanistan and met with leaders of a group that supported their plans. He returned to Germany and continued his studies.

United States

On March 22, 2000, Atta sent an email from Germany to a flight school in Florida. He and others wanted to learn to fly airplanes. He asked for a visa to visit the United States and got it the next day.

Atta came to the United States in June 2000. He began flight training in Florida with other men. They practiced flying and had many lessons to become good pilots.

Before the attacks, Atta traveled between the United States and Spain. He met with other planners. They talked about their plans and targets, including important buildings in the United States. Atta returned to the United States in July 2001 to finish getting ready for the attacks.

9/11 attacks and death

Main article: American Airlines Flight 11

On September 10, 2001, Mohamed Atta drove with another person to an airport in Maine. The next morning, they flew to Boston.

Atta was on American Airlines Flight 11, which left Boston at 7:59 a.m. The plane was taken over by a group of hijackers during the flight. After this, the plane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. Many people were killed in the crash and the tower later fell down.

Atta's luggage was found later at the Boston airport. It had items about flying and some personal notes.

Family reaction and denial

Mohamed Atta's father said his son was not part of the 9/11 attacks. He thought other groups or governments were to blame. He said his son was a quiet student who studied architecture. Even after the attacks, Atta’s father believed his son was still alive and hiding.

In 2021, Atta’s mother also said her son did not do those things. She thought he was far away somewhere.

Mistaken identity

After the terrible events of September 11, some people were confused about who Mohamed Atta really was. At first, some thought he was another man named Mahmoud Mahmoud Atta, who was from Jordan. This Mahmoud Atta did something very bad many years earlier, but he is not the same person as Mohamed Atta. Mahmoud Atta was much older and was later caught and put in prison.

There were also stories that Mohamed Atta had visited a place called Prague in the Czech Republic to meet with someone from Iraq. But investigators looked into this and decided this meeting probably never happened. Some people thought they saw him there, but they were mistaken.

There was also talk about a project called Able Danger that might have known about Atta before September 11. But later reviews found that this information was either misunderstood or not clearly reported.

Assessment and motivation

People have different ideas about why Mohamed Atta acted the way he did. Some think he was following orders from leaders of a group called al-Qaeda. Others believe he was very committed to a political cause.

There is a video from 2000 that shows Atta and another person in Afghanistan. In the video, they look happy and are smiling. This video gives a look at Atta during an important time when plans were being made.

In popular culture

Canadian actor Elie Gemael showed Atta in a BBC/Discovery docudrama called Zero Hour.

Atta was the main character in a 2004 film called The Hamburg Cell, played by Maral Kamel.

Martin Brodie played Atta in a 2006 miniseries called The Path to 9/11.