Emotional moments at King Muslim hearing
Talat Hamdani, an activist from Bay Shore whose son was killed on Sept. 11, 2001, cries during the hearing. The motives of her son, a Muslim, were questioned when he arrived to help during the terrorist attack. (March 10, 2011) Credit: Charles Eckert
In the most emotional moment of Thursday's House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Muslim radicalization, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) was nearly overcome as he spoke about Mohammad Salman Hamdani, a Queens paramedic who was killed on Sept. 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center.
New York police initially told reporters that they were "skeptical" that Hamdani, 23, was near the towers because he had no reason to be in the vicinity that day. Investigators then said they hoped to question him, but did not consider him a terrorism suspect. The NYPD later asserted that Hamdani, who worked at Rockefeller University in Manhattan, was "not involved" in the attack. His remains were found in March 2002 under the rubble of the north tower.
"Mr. Hamdani bravely sacrificed his life to try and help others on 9/11," said Ellison, who began to cry as he testified.
"After the tragedy, some people tried to smear his character solely because of his Islamic faith. Some people spread false rumors and speculated that he was in league with the attackers only because he was Muslim. It was only when his remains were identified that these lies were fully exposed."
Hamdani's mother, Talat Hamdani of Lake Grove, sat behind Ellison at the hearing and said she, too, broke into tears.
"It is the untold story that needs to be told in the aftermath of him giving his life," said Hamdani, a retired New York City schoolteacher. "Instead of being immediately honored, there was slander, there was speculation. Six months later they found his remains. These are the stories that the extremists and the Republicans in Congress don't want to be told."
Bill Hersh, Mohammad Salman Hamdani's chemistry professor at Queens College, said Thursday that Hamdani, known as Sal to his friends, worked in his lab with and became fast friends with students from Israel and Puerto Rico.
Word cloud of Peter King's prepared speech.
"He was Americanized," Hersh said. "He loved football and 'Star Wars.' His Muslim faith was his faith, but he considered himself an American."
Talat Hamdani said reporters kept asking if the attention being given her son at a high-profile congressional hearing would affect his legacy.
"He made his legacy that day at the towers," she responded.
Updated 37 minutes ago Suozzi visits ICE 'hold rooms' ... U.S. cuts child vaccines ... Coram apartment fire ... Out East: Custer Institute and Observatory
Updated 37 minutes ago Suozzi visits ICE 'hold rooms' ... U.S. cuts child vaccines ... Coram apartment fire ... Out East: Custer Institute and Observatory
