Muslim Victims of 911
Muslim Victims of 911
Muslim Victims of 911
32 Muslim died in the tragic events of 9/11 (1 was not a confirmed death)
29 Muslims died at the World Trade Center
3 Muslims died in the hijacked planes (United Flight 175 and American Flight 11)
Muslims represented 1.07% of all those who died (a total of 2976 people died in all the events)
Muslims represented 1.11% of all those who died at the World Trade Center (2605 died at WTC)
It is safe to say that American Muslims represent 1% of the total U.S. population.
Shabbir Ahmad
Immigrated from Bangladesh in 1981. 45 years old. Died at WTC. Waiter at
Windows on the World. Left wife and 3 children. His dream was to put his children
through college, and the oldest, a daughter, was attending Brooklyn College.
Tariq Amanullah
Immigrated from Pakistan. 40 years old. Died at WTC. Vice‐President of Fiduciary
Trust International. Left wife and 2 children.
Michael Baksh
Immigrated from Pakistan and raised in America. 36 years old. Died at WTC.
Insurance executive at Marsh and McLennan. September 11 was his first day on the
job. Left wife and 2 children.
Touri Bolourchi
Immigrated from Iran around 1982. 69 years old. Died on United Flight 175. Lived in
Beverly Hills, CA. Retired nurse. Left husband and 2 children. She was described by her
elder daughter as “a practicing but easygoing Muslim,” who “said her prayers.” She was
on her way home from seeing her daughter and grand children in Boston.
Abdul K. Chowdhury
Immigrated from Bangladesh. 30 years old. Died at WTC. Senior Assistant Analyst at
Cantor Fitzgerald. Married to Korean‐American.
Mohammad Salahuddin Chowdhury
Immigrated from Bangladesh. 38 years old. Died at WTC. Waiter at Windows on
the World; had a MA from Bangladesh and was working on another degree. Left
wife and two children. Wife, Baraheen Ashrafi, was 9 months pregnant, and she
gave birth prematurely on September 13 to a baby boy, Farqad. His wife related in
an interview with CTV Canada that she mourned her husband and endured the
hostility of some ignorant people around her. “When they saw me…I’m wearing a
scarf. There is a hate look.”
Jemal Legesse Desantis
Convert to Islam. 28 years old. Died at WTC. His cousin wrote, “Through your love
and kindness, I was able to learn about and respect the Muslim religion.”
Simon Suleiman Ali Kassamali Dhanani
63 years old. Vice President of Aon Corp. Died at WTC. Worker at Aon Corp.
Syed Abdul Fatha
Immigrated from India in 1995. 54 years old. Died at WTC. Worker at Pitney Bowes.
He left wife who was from Guyana. He is described as a devote Muslim who made his
five daily prayers. A co‐worker wrote, “He was going to buy me a Koran in Spanish
because he wanted me to know about his religion.”
Nizam A. Hafiz
Immigrated with family from Guyana. 32 years old. Died at WTC. Computer analyst at
March and McLennan. He was a weekend cricket star; he was a member of the U.S.
national team and captain of the American Cricket Society.
Mohammad Salman Hamdani
23 years old. Died at WTC. He was a part‐time ambulance driver and a New York City
police cadet. His remains were identified 6 months after 9/11; he was found with his
EMT medical bag beside him.
Zuhtu Ibis
Immigrated with father from Turkey at age of 18. 25 years old. Died at WTC.
Computer worker at Cantor Fitzgerald. Left wife and 2 year old son.
Mohammed Jawara
Immigrated from Gambia (Banjul). 30 years old. Died at WTC. Security guard for MAS
Security and was on duty at Windows on the World on 9/11. He was described as a
“devout Muslim.”
Sarah Khan
Immigrated with husband from Guyana in 1992. 32 years old. Died at WTC.
Cafeteria manager for Forte Food. Left husband, Nazam, and 2 children.
Taymour Firaz Khan
Raised in America. 29 years old. Died at WTC. Trader for Carr Futures.
Abdoulaye Kone
Immigrated from Ivory Coast. 37 years old. Died at WTC. Pastry chef at Windows on
the World. Native tongue was Mandingo. Left wife and 2 children, ages 5 and 8.
Abdu Malahi
Grew up in Brooklyn of Yemeni descent. 37 years old. Died at WTC. Audio visual
manager at the Marriott. Left wife and 2 children. He married in Yemen and he was
working to get a visa for them to come to America. He was one of the true heroes of
9/11.
One survivor wrote, “Abdu saved me from the Marriott World Trade Center the
morning of Sept. 11 about 15 minutes before he died when the first tower fell on the
hotel. He was a true hero. Despite being told by hotel management to evacute, Abdu
took it upon himself to run from floor to floor to see if any guests remained. I remember him shouting in
the hallways and taking guests personally to the stairwell to exit before continuing his run. I'll never
forget his face.”
Another survivor wrote: “Abdu saved my life. Because we were told not to evacuate the hotel by
management via the intercom system (before the intercom system was destroyed by the second plane
crash), Abdu took it upon himself to alert the remaining guests that they must leave. I was waiting in my
room when I heard him shouting in the hallway. I opened the door, and he told me I must leave
immediately. He escorted me to the stairways before continuing on to save other guests. He is
constantly in my thoughts. He is my guardian angel. I love this man whom I only met once. It is still hard
for me to comprehend his sacrifice for strangers. Abdu was a very special man, indeed.”
Marriott honored him and one other Marriott employee who died on 9/11 by planting two trees in
downtown Brooklyn.
Nurul Huq Miah (Husband of Shakila Yasmin)
Immigrated from Bangladesh. 36 years old. Died at WTC. Audio visual technician
for Marsh and McLennan.
Boyie Mohammad
Immigrated from Trinidad. 50 years old. Died at WTC. Trader for Carr Futures.
Ehtesham U. Raja
Immigrated from Pakistan. 28 years old. Died at WTC. Worked at TCG Software and
was attending a conference at WTC on 9/11.
Amenia Rasool
Immigrated as a child from Guyana. 33 years old. Died at WTC. Accountant for Marsh
and McLennan. Left husband, Sadiq, and 4 children. It was described that their
marriage “flourished on a mix of Islamic tradition and American opportunity.”
Khalid Shahid
Grew up in America of Pakistani heritage. 25 years old. Died at WTC. Systems
administrator for Cantor Fitzgerald. Was planning to marry his high school sweetheart,
Jamie Castro, and they had started to build a house in New Jersey.
Mohammad Ali Sadeque (reported missing)
62 years old. Newspaper vendor at WTC.
Rahma Salie (wife of Michael Theodoridis)
Born in Sri Lanka but raised in Japan. 28 years old. Died in American Flight 11. Chief
Operating Officer of Cinoni. Married Michael Theodoridis in 1998 and he converted to
Islam at that time. She was 7 months pregnant with their first child at the time of the
crash. They were on their way to attend a wedding in California. According to the
Independent (UK) (October 11, 2001), she was investigated as a possible terrorist
accomplish because of her Muslim name, and several of her family members were
placed on a no‐fly list that barred them from attending her memorial. Her mother, Haleema, said, “I
would like everyone to know that she was a Muslim, she is a Muslim, and we are victims too, of this
tragic incident.”
Mohammed Shajahan
41 years old. Died at WTC. Computer administrator for March and McLennan.
Nasima H. Simjee
38 years old. Died at WTC. Worked at Fiduciary Trust International.
Michael Theodoridis (husband of Rahma Salie)
Greek American. 32 years old. Died in American Flight 11. Technology consultant,
based in Boston. Converted to Islam when he married Rahma Salie in 1998. They
were expecting their first child. Muslim co‐worker reported being his Muslim
conscience in keeping up the Ramadan fast.
Abdoul Karim Traore
Immigrated from the Ivory Coast in 1993. 40 years old. Died in WTC. Banquet cook
at Windows on the World. He was elected a union shop steward. Left wife and 3
children, ages 1, 3, and 8. His wife immigrated in 1997 but the only daughter at the
time had visa problems and she remained in Ivory Coast. On the job, it was reported
that “he took regular breaks for his daily Muslim prayers.”
Karamo Trerra
Immigrated from Gambia. 40 years old. Died in WTC. Computer technician for ASAP
NetSource. Left a wife. His wife who is Jewish described him as a Muslim. She
reported that “he laughed when watching ‘The O’Reilly Factor” and “Hardball.”
Shakila Yasmin (wife of Nurul Huq Miah)
Immigrated from Bangladesh. 26 years old. Died in WTC. Computer assistant at
March and McLennan.
Mon Gjonbalaj
Immigrated from Albania. 65 years old. Died in WTC. Janitor at WTC. He was
supposed to retire in 2001. Left 4 children. In 2000 he went to Kosovo to help his
brother rebuild a house destroyed by the war there.