Mohamed Atta
Atta was born on September 1, 1968, in Kafr el-Sheikh, located in Egypt's Nile Delta region. His father, Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta, was a lawyer, educated in both sharia and civil law. His mother, Bouthayna Mohamed Mustapha Sheraqi, came from a wealthy farming and trading family and was also educated. Bouthayna and Mohamed married when she was 14, via an arranged marriage. The family had few relatives on the father's side and kept a distance from Bouthayna's family. In-laws characterized Atta's father as "austere, strict, and private," and neighbors considered the family reclusive. Atta was the only son; he had two older sisters who are both well-educated and successful in their careers — one as a medical doctor and the other as a professor.
Muhammad al-Imadi
Mohammed Imady was born in Damascus on August 31, 1930 to Jawdat al-Imadi (1882-1958) and Yissra al-Hawasli (1898-1969). The Imadi family can be traced back to Bukhara, and earlier to Hijaz where it claims lineage to Abu Bakr al-Sidiq, the first successor of the Prophet. The first documented evidence of its presence in Damascus starts with the 16th century when Abd al-Rahman al-Imadi (1570-1641) was designated by the Ottoman Sultan as the Grand Mufti of Damascus. Subsequently, six additional descendants of Abd al-Rahman were also designated grand muftis. But by the time Mohammed Imady was born in the early twentieth century, the family's earlier glory had been largely forgotten, and the wealth, previously accumulated through land grants, largely dissipated. Imady studied law at the University of Damascus. In 1955, he was sent on a government scholarship to New York University (NYU) to pursue his higher education in economics. At NYU, he met and married (August 1956) Mildred Elaine Rippey (April 16, 1934) from Palisades NY. Imady received his Phd in 1960 with an honorary distinction and returned with his wife and daughter, Susan Sahar Imady (July 5, 1957), to Damascus.