Talat Hamdani Explained

Talat Hamdani
Birth Place:Karachi, Pakistan
Nationality:American
Known For:frequently quoted on Muslim-American issues
Occupation:schoolteacher

Talat Hamdani is a Pakistan-born American who became a commentator after her son was killed during Al Qaeda's attacks on September 11, 2001.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Her eldest son, Mohammad Salman Hamdani, was a New York Police Department cadet, who had trained as a first responder.

Mourners at her son's funeral included Michael Bloomberg, who was then Mayor of New York, Ray Kelly, then Police Commissioner, and Gary Ackerman, then his Congressional Representative.

Hamdani described growing up in a Karachi that was more liberal than the Pakistan of today, where she was able to play in the schoolyard with boys, ride a bike, and learn to drive. She worked as a school teacher in Pakistan, before immigrating to the US, where she again worked as a school teacher.

In August 2004, the San Francisco Chronicle called Hamdani a vehement opponent of the Patriot Act", when they quoted her in an article about critics of George Bush who feared he would use the site of the 9-11 attacks for partisan political purposes during the 2004 Republican Convention.[2] Hamdani has described how her son—a paramedic who had spontaneously made his way to help at the World Trade Center, only to die when the buildings collapsed—was investigated following the attacks.[7] [8]

A small number of the loved ones of those who died during al Qaeda's attack were selected to attend the Guantanamo military commissions of the most senior Guantanamo captives.[1] Talat was one of those chosen.

The King of Jordan invited Hamdani, and the surviving relatives of other American victims of terrorism, to sit beside him when he addressed the United States Congress in March 2007.[5] The theme of the King's speech was the need for the US to play a leadership role in guiding the peace process in the middle east.

In 2010 Hamdani's support of the building of the "ground zero mosque" was widely repeated.[3] [4] Hamdani told the San Diego Union Tribune that she felt Muslims were being unfairly "targeted" for terrorist attacks, when the attacks killed Muslims like her son.

In April 2010, when forensic specialists began searching through yet another 844 yards of rubble, for bits of bone of 9-11 victims, to see if DNA could be extracted and identified, Hamdani was quoted, questioning the value of the search.[9] Reuters quoted Hamdani calling the search "cruel and inhumane" as it prevented the surviving loved ones to find closure.

On January 4, 2012, Public Radio International reported that her son Mohammad Salman Hamdani was not going to be included on the list of police officers who were killed on 9-11.[10] Spokesmen justified leaving him off the list as he was still a cadet.Talat speculated that his Muslim faith played a role in leaving him off the list.

On November 23, 2015, the New York Daily News published an op-ed from Hamdani, allowing her to respond to Republican Party Presidential aspirant Donald Trump comments on Muslims and public safety. Hamdani asserted that Trump's assertion that he would register all Muslim Americans in a special database, and force them to carry special ID cards, would be inconsistent with the oath of office, where an incoming President swears to defend the United States Constitution. She pointed out:

She suggested the willingness of Donald Trump, and other candidates, including Ben Carson, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, to advocate unconsistutional security measures should disqualify them from serious consideration as presidential candidates.

Notes and References

  1. News: No Justice Can Come From Guantánamo Military Commissions . . 2009-10-20 . Talat Hamdani . https://web.archive.org/web/20091027231813/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/talat-hamdani/no-justice-can-come-from_b_327050.html . 2009-10-27 . dead.
  2. News: Some victims' families say GOP unfairly capitalizing on 9/11 / Ground zero a touchy subject during convention . . Zachary Coile . 2004-08-31 . 2010-11-02 . 'My son was a casualty of 9/11 -- not because he was a Muslim or because he was from Pakistan, but because he was an American,' Hamdani said. Hamdani, a vehement opponent of the Patriot Act, which provided law enforcement greater powers to fight terrorists, said she believes the administration is wrong to detain thousands of mostly Arab men without charging them with crimes. 'So many families have no knowledge of where their loved ones are," she said. "In the name of democracy, they are arresting innocent people.' . https://archive.today/20130202004447/http://articles.sfgate.com/2004-08-31/news/17441518_1_terror-attacks-world-trade-center-site-ground-zero . 2013-02-02 . live.
  3. News: 9/11 family members divided over mosque near WTC. San Diego Union Tribune. Samantha Gross. 2010-08-20. 2010-11-02. When her EMT son went missing in the days after 9/11, Talat Hamdani traveled to Mecca to pray that he was safe - hoping authorities could have thought him a suspect because of his Muslim background and detained him. .
  4. News: N.Y. mosque raises worry for some Muslims: Islam's image in US a concern . . Rachel Zoll . 2010-08-19 . 2010-11-02 . Talat Hamdani, a Muslim whose son Mohammad Salman Hamdani, a New York emergency medical technician, was killed, supports the proposal. “I'm not fighting for a mosque. I'm fighting for my rights,’’ she said. . https://web.archive.org/web/20100820103626/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/08/19/ny_mosque_raises_worry_for_some_muslims/ . 2010-08-20 . live.
  5. News: LIers get royal treatment, In D.C. speech, king of Jordan honors 2 LI families who lost sons on 9/11, calls on U.S. to guide peace process. https://archive.today/20130131153733/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/1228884801.html?dids=1228884801:1228884801&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+08,+2007&author=LOUISE+RADNOFSKY.+louise.radnofsky@newsday.com&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc=LIers+get+royal+treatment,+In+D.C.+speech,+king+of+Jordan+honors+2+LI+families+who+lost+sons+on+9/11,+calls+on+U.S.+to+guide+peace+process&pqatl=google. dead. January 31, 2013. Newsday. Louise Radnofsky. 2007-03-08. A.08. 2010-11-02. Queen Rania of Jordan, front center, listens to King Abdullah II's speech before Congress yesterday along with Talat Hamdani, far right, whose son died on 9/11..
  6. News: Metro Matters; Our Daily Tribute to Differences Provokes Dislike Among Many. New York Times. Joyce Purnick. 2001-09-20. 2010-11-02.
  7. News: Muslims Want Voice in 9/11 Commission Follow-Up . . Jessie Bonner . 2005-02-15 . 2010-11-02 . Hamdani recalled the thousands of Muslims who were interrogated for alleged connections with terrorist activities and said her son was also investigated by the FBI as a potential suspect after he was reported missing. 'As a Muslim-American woman, it was horrific,' said Hamdani, a public school teacher in Queens. 'I came to realize that Islam and terrorism have become synonymous.' . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230339/http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/5908/ . 2016-03-03 . live.
  8. News: 9/11 Pakistani victim's mother questions treatment of Muslims . . 2005-02-16 . 2012-10-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121022124306/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_16-2-2005_pg7_39 . live . According to a news-report circulated by Scripps-Howard, Hamdani recalled the thousands of Muslims who were interrogated for alleged connections with terrorist activities and said her son was also investigated by the FBI as a potential suspect after he was reported missing. “As a Muslim-American woman, it was horrific,” said the public school teacher in Queens. “I came to realise that Islam and terrorism have become synonymous.”.
  9. News: Years later, looking for traces of Sept 11 victims. Reuters. 2010-04-23. 2012-05-01. Another sifting of the remains is cruel and inhumane," said Talat Hamdani. Her son, a police cadet, died on Sept. 11. "Sifting the remains will not provide the victims' families closure. On the contrary, it will only cause more pain by reopening their wound and it will inject a feeling of revenge once again in the veins of our nation," she said..
  10. News: Muslim American NYPD Cadet Mohammad Salman Hamdani left off 9/11 memorial list . . 2012-01-04 . 2012-05-01 . Talat Hamdani, Hamdani's mother, thinks her son is being overlooked because of his Muslim faith. Talat Hamdani said when her son, also a trained paramedic, rushed to the scene of the attack, he was viewed as a potential terrorist attacker. His picture was circulated and law enforcement were told to detain him for questioning. . https://web.archive.org/web/20120112041658/http://www.pri.org/stories/politics-society/muslim-american-nypd-cadet-mohammad-salman-hamdani-left-off-memorial-list-7786.html . 2012-01-12 . live.

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