The Official Launch Of The International Islamic Commission For 9/11 Justice In Pakistan

An Open Letter from Captain Dan Hanley, Retired United Airlines Pilot and Executive Director of the International Islamic Commission for 9/11 Justice, to the Foreign Ministers of the 57 OIC Member States, Announcing the Launch of a Campaign for an Independent 9/11 Investigation Based in Islamabad, Pakistan.

To: Their Excellencies, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the 57 Member States of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

Your Excellency,

I am writing to introduce myself personally, explain the purpose and origins of the International Islamic Commission for 9/11 Justice, and inform you that we have now officially launched our campaign to establish an independent international commission, with Islamabad, Pakistan, proposed as its host location.

My name is Captain Dan Hanley, Retired. I am an American Muslim, a former United Airlines Boeing 777 captain, an aviation-safety whistleblower, and the Executive Director of the International Islamic Commission for 9/11 Justice. I am also the founder of 9/11 Pilot Whistle-blowers and have spent approximately 24 years investigating questions arising from the events of September 11, 2001, and speaking publicly about aviation-safety issues that I believe deserve further independent examination.

I have lived in Pakistan for approximately 16 years and am married to a Pakistani Muslim. My connection to Pakistan is personal as well as professional. I believe Pakistan has an opportunity to facilitate an international initiative that could give Muslim-majority countries, independent investigators, aviation professionals, and other qualified witnesses a credible forum in which to examine outstanding questions concerning 9/11.

My aviation career and the events that changed my life

My aviation career began in 1968, when I was 19 years old. I subsequently served approximately ten years in United States Navy aviation before joining United Airlines in 1978. During my commercial aviation career, I flew for approximately 25 years, including as captain of the Boeing 777. I operated approximately 15 aircraft types over my career and accumulated more than 20,000 hours of accident-free flight time.

I devoted my professional life to aviation, flight safety, and the responsibility entrusted to a captain carrying passengers. I took that responsibility seriously, and my record reflected decades of training, operational experience, and service.

In 2002, following my decision to speak out about 9/11-related aviation-safety concerns, I was illegally grounded for life and removed from the United Airlines flying schedule. From my perspective, the consequences effectively ended the aviation career to which I had devoted decades of my life.

I could not simply return to the cockpit and continue the profession that had defined my working life. Instead, I found myself embarking on a path that would consume the next 24 years: investigating, documenting, and publicly raising questions about the events of 9/11, particularly the aviation-related evidence and the explanations offered to the public.

I did not anticipate that speaking out would become such a defining and costly part of my life. I believed that aviation-safety questions should be examined on their merits and that professional experience should be allowed to contribute to the public understanding of a major historical event. I have continued this work because I believe important questions should be resolved through evidence, independent scrutiny, and transparent procedures.

The personal and financial price of speaking out

The consequences, as I have experienced them, have been substantial.

First, I lost the opportunity to continue the flying career for which I had trained and worked since my youth. For a professional pilot, being removed from the cockpit is not merely a change of employment. It means losing the work, professional identity, and responsibility that have shaped much of one’s adult life.

Second, I estimate that the financial losses associated with the end of my United Airlines career—including lost compensation, pension benefits, and stock-related benefits—amount to approximately US$4 million over the relevant period. This is my estimate of the economic consequences of what happened, rather than an independently audited figure.

Third, the work has demanded an extraordinary investment of time, energy, and personal resources. For 24 years, I have continued researching, communicating with witnesses and aviation professionals, preparing material, pursuing media opportunities, and attempting to bring these issues before institutions capable of examining them. This has been a long and often difficult undertaking.

The personal cost has extended beyond my professional and financial life. Years devoted to this work, and the conflicts and pressures surrounding my efforts, have coincided with painful difficulties in my family life and personal relationships. I do not suggest that every personal loss can be attributed to one event or one cause. I do want you to understand, however, that this initiative comes from someone who has devoted a substantial portion of his life to pursuing questions he believes warrant serious examination, despite the consequences he has experienced.

I share these details not to ask for sympathy or special treatment, but to explain why this work has become a sustained personal commitment. I have continued because I believe that matters of this magnitude should not be settled solely by accepting official explanations without allowing relevant evidence and qualified witnesses to be examined independently.

Why I believe an international commission is needed

The attacks of September 11, 2001, had consequences far beyond the United States. They reshaped international security policy, aviation procedures, military operations, intelligence cooperation, public perceptions of Islam, and relations between Muslim-majority societies and Western governments.

The subsequent wars and counterterrorism policies had profound consequences for Muslim communities and countries. Pakistan itself has experienced severe human, social, economic, and security costs associated with the post-9/11 period and the wider War on Terror.

For Muslims around the world, 9/11 also became inseparable from questions of collective blame, religious prejudice, and the treatment of Muslim communities. I believe that a rigorous, independent examination of the evidence could help distinguish established facts from disputed interpretations, clarify unresolved questions, and provide a more reliable historical record.

My own work has concentrated particularly on aviation-related questions. These include the available flight records and technical evidence, the capabilities and operation of aircraft systems, the accounts given of aircraft control, and the questions I believe warrant examination by appropriately qualified and independent aviation experts.

I have raised concerns about the explanations offered for the operation of the aircraft and have advocated further examination of what I have described as an “Uninterruptible Autopilot” concept. These are matters that I believe should be assessed through technical documentation, verifiable evidence, and independent expert analysis—not accepted or rejected merely because of the identity or opinions of the person raising them.

I recognise that many official accounts of 9/11 differ from the interpretations advanced by me and other independent researchers. That is precisely why I believe an international process should be designed around evidence, clear standards of proof, qualified expertise, fair procedures, and the opportunity for competing explanations to be examined.

The proposed commission would not begin with a requirement that participants accept my conclusions. Its purpose should be to establish what the evidence supports, identify what remains unresolved, and publish defensible findings through a transparent and independent process.

I believe that such a process could also provide a constructive way to address questions that have affected the reputation and treatment of Muslims worldwide, without assigning collective guilt to any religious or national community.

The International Islamic Commission for 9/11 Justice

The concept of an International Islamic Commission for 9/11 Justice was my initiative. Over the years, I have worked to bring the proposal into public discussion and to identify a practical international framework through which it might be pursued.

I am now serving as the Commission’s Executive Director, and we have officially launched our campaign in Pakistan to establish the proposed commission.

The initiative is intended to bring together qualified people from different countries and professional backgrounds, including aviation specialists, independent investigators, researchers, legal experts, relevant witnesses, and others whose knowledge may contribute to a careful examination of the evidence.

The proposed commission would seek to:

1. Examine the evidence. Review relevant aviation, technical, documentary, and testimonial material concerning 9/11, including issues that qualified investigators believe have not been adequately resolved.
2. Hear qualified witnesses. Provide a structured process for witnesses and experts from different countries to submit evidence and explain their findings.
3. Use independent expertise. Engage people with appropriate technical, investigative, legal, and research qualifications, with procedures designed to manage conflicts of interest and assess the reliability of evidence.
4. Protect the integrity of the inquiry. Establish transparent standards for evaluating evidence, recording testimony, considering alternative explanations, and distinguishing verified facts from allegations or interpretations.
5. Publish findings. Produce a reasoned report identifying what the evidence establishes, what remains uncertain, and where further investigation may be warranted.
6. Engage international institutions. Present appropriate findings to relevant governments and international bodies, including the OIC and International Criminal Court, and consider further legal or institutional avenues where justified by the evidence and applicable law.

I want to emphasize that the proposal remains a campaign to establish an independent commission. It is not a claim that the commission has already been formally constituted, that Pakistan or the OIC has endorsed it, or that its proposed findings have been determined in advance.

Why Pakistan is being asked to host the commission

We have petitioned senior officials of the Government of Pakistan to consider having Pakistan serve as the host country for the proposed commission, with Islamabad as its base.

Pakistan is an important country in the Muslim world. Its population is overwhelmingly Muslim, it has substantial diplomatic experience, and it has itself experienced the far-reaching consequences of the post-9/11 international security environment.

I believe Islamabad could provide a practical location for an international gathering of witnesses, researchers, aviation professionals, and legal experts from different parts of the world.

Our request is for Pakistan to consider serving as the host country, not to prejudge the findings of the commission or to commit the Pakistani government to endorsing any particular interpretation of 9/11. The independence of the inquiry would be essential to its credibility.

We have approached senior Pakistani government officials to ask them to consider this proposal. The campaign is continuing, and I am now reaching out to the foreign ministers of OIC member states so that they may become familiar with the initiative and consider whether it merits engagement and support.

I believe that a host-country arrangement should be structured so that the commission can conduct its work independently, apply consistent evidentiary standards, and publish its conclusions without being directed toward a predetermined outcome by any government.

Why I am approaching the OIC’s foreign ministers

I am contacting you because the OIC provides an established forum for cooperation among 57 member states and for discussion of issues affecting the Muslim world.

I respectfully believe that the implications of 9/11, the wars and security policies that followed, and the continuing effects on Muslim communities make this an issue worthy of consideration by the international Muslim community.

I am not asking the OIC or any member state to accept my personal conclusions without examination. I am asking you to consider whether an independent international inquiry, conducted according to credible procedures, could make a useful contribution to historical understanding, aviation safety, justice, and international dialogue.

The proposed commission could also give governments an opportunity to encourage evidence-based examination of a subject that has had lasting consequences for relations among nations and religious communities.

I would welcome the opportunity for your ministry to review the proposal, provide observations, and advise whether there is an appropriate channel through which the initiative might be brought to the attention of your government and, where appropriate, the OIC’s relevant bodies.

I would also welcome dialogue with qualified individuals in your country who may possess relevant professional expertise, documentary material, or first-hand knowledge that could contribute to an independent process.

My request to Your Excellency

I respectfully request three considerations:

First, that you and your ministry review this introduction and the accompanying information about the International Islamic Commission for 9/11 Justice.

Second, that you consider whether your government would be willing to engage in a preliminary discussion about the proposed commission and the possibility of Pakistan hosting it, without prejudging the outcome of any investigation.

Third, that you consider whether this initiative could appropriately be brought to the attention of the OIC or discussed with other member states as a proposal for further consideration.

At this stage, I am seeking awareness, dialogue, and consideration. I recognize that establishing an international commission would require substantial work, careful planning, credible procedures, and engagement with governments and qualified experts. We are prepared to pursue that work and to discuss practical arrangements with those who are willing to examine the proposal seriously.

Closing

Your Excellency, I began my professional life as an aviator. I did not expect that speaking about aviation-safety questions arising from 9/11 would lead to a 24-year effort to pursue an independent examination of the evidence. Yet this has become the work to which I have devoted much of my later life.

I believe that serious questions deserve serious examination, that evidence should be assessed fairly, and that no conclusion should be protected from scrutiny merely because it is politically difficult or institutionally inconvenient.

I also believe that Muslims should not be expected to carry the burden of suspicion or collective blame indefinitely when questions about a historic event can be addressed through a properly structured, independent process.

I am therefore asking you to consider this initiative on its merits: not as a demand that you adopt a predetermined conclusion, but as an invitation to support a credible process through which evidence can be examined and defensible findings reached.

Thank you for taking the time to read my introduction. I would be grateful for your consideration and would welcome a response from your ministry or the appropriate office.

Respectfully,

Captain Dan Hanley, Retired
Executive Director
International Islamic Commission for 9/11 Justice
Founder, 9/11 Pilot Whistleblowers
Whistleblowing Airline Pilots Association (WAPA)
Islamabad, Pakistan

Categories: Geopolitics, History, International Affairs

Tags: Geopolitics, History, Islam, Muslim Ummah, Muslims, OIC, September 11, Terrorism, United States of America, USA