MEDIA ADVISORY FOR THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2023, 5:30 PM
RSVP to Linda.Pacheco@qc.cuny.edu
Queens College to Screen Documentary on September 11 Victim and Alumnus Mohammad Salman Hamdani, a 23-Year-Old Muslim American First Responder Initially Profiled as a Terrorist
–College to unveil Hamdani memorial plaque in ceremony ahead of “American Jedi” screening, with remarks from Hamdani’s mother and one of his former professors—
WHAT: A screening of American Jedi: The Salman Hamdani Story, a 38-minute documentary about 23-year-old Muslim American Queens College graduate Mohammed Salman Hamdani, an EMT who died in the collapse of the World Trade Center’s north tower on September 11, 2001. Following reports that Hamdani—a medical school applicant working at Rockefeller University—went missing during his morning commute, suspicions arose in some media that he could have been involved in the attacks. Speculation ended when his remains were recovered at Ground Zero in March 2002.
Eager to pursue an interfaith project, producers Nick Eyde, who is Christian, and longtime friend Mohammad Khalil, who is Muslim, explored events that had changed the United States. Focusing on Muslim victims of September 11, they sought to tell the story of Hamdani, a Pakistani immigrant who loved his adopted country and all things Star Wars, had served as a police cadet, and after hearing about the disaster on his way to work, apparently rushed to the Trade Center site to help. The film features interviews with Hamdani’s family, friends, professors, and two Muslim survivors of the attacks, paired with Hamdani family home videos.
Also in attendance will be a recipient of the Salman Hamdani Memorial Award, presented annually to a graduating Queens College senior who has maintained exacting standards in scholarship and character and has been accepted to medical school.
Before the screening, a plaque memorializing Hamdani will be unveiled for his family and the college community at Cooperman Plaza near the college’s library. A reception will follow the screening.
WHEN: Plaque unveiling and remarks: 5:30 pm, Cooperman Plaza, adjacent to the college’s Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library. Screening: 6:30 pm, President’s Conference Room 2, Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library.
WHO: Speakers include Queens College President Frank H. Wu; Queens College Chemistry Professor William Hersh, who taught Hamdani; Talat Hamdani, Hamdani’s mother; and Daniel Fedida, a Hamdani Memorial Award recipient.
WHERE: Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing, NY 11367 Directions | Campus Map
Background
American Jedi: The Salman Hamdani Story (2023) is distributed by Alexander Street and is available for streaming through many university library websites, including the Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library at Queens College. It was produced, directed, and written by Nick Eyde, who also executive produced, Mohammad Khalil, and Kraig Westfall. Eyde played for six seasons in the Italian Football League for such teams as the Rome Ducks, Reggio Emilia Hogs, Lazio Marines, and Bolzano Giants, making one Italian Bowl appearance. He is currently a real estate developer in the Toledo area. His efforts include redeveloping the former Fiberglas Tower into the mixed-use Tower on the Maumee and spearheading the effort to bring the Italian Bowl to Toledo. He has been a featured guest star on “Chicago Fire” and has produced a handful of independent film projects. Khalil is a professor of religious studies, adjunct professor of law, and the director of the Muslim Studies Program at Michigan State University. He has authored and edited multiple books on Islam and Muslims and was the lead investigator for the Muslims of the Midwest digital archive. He earned his degrees from the University of Michigan.
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