Mohamed Atta is such an interesting character imo

I personally think that it’s almost too easy to just pass him off as pure evil. I see him as someone who was complicated, but also intelligent, and obviously seriously driven once he found a cause to focus on.

Obviously I abhor his actions. I think his actions on September 11th are beyond incomprehensible and there’s not enough words in the English language to express how much I absolutely do not excuse what he did. His actions that day were pure evil.

But then I see childhood photos of him, and even photos of him as an adult where he just seems so awkward and uncomfortable. Everything I’ve ever read or learned about him has made me think that he must’ve just felt so uncomfortable being alive, like he didn’t belong anywhere. His father wouldn’t allow him to have social contact after school, his walks home were timed and he had to explain himself if he was late. I wonder if his childhood was different, would we still be talking about him today? Or would he be quietly married somewhere with a family and a good job? Did young Mohamed ever imagine that this would be his legacy?

It’s too easy to just see him as an evil boogeyman, I think he hated himself deeply, struggled once he moved to the west and found comfort in the strict rules of ultra extreme Islam. I can imagine that he wanted to die for a long time, long before 9/11 was ever thought of, but couldn’t bring himself to take his own life because it’s seen as such a sin. So he took thousands of others with him. What a sad waste.