Commentary:
This absurd email forward combines three earlier hoaxes that have been circulating in one form or another for several years.
The message first draws attention to the high number of "elevens" that can be derived from names or elements pertaining to the September 2001 attacks on the United States. It then discusses a verse supposedly taken from the Quran that seems to predict The US involvement in Iraq. Finally, it claims that the flight number of one of the 9/11 planes shows a pictorial representation of the attack on the Twin Towers when converted to the "Wingdings" font in Microsoft Word. As discussed below, all three of these claims are unfounded.
The continued recurrence of the number eleven in relation to 9/11 may seem to have some weird relevance at first glance. However, it is easy to manipulate the details of an event so that an apparent numerical pattern emerges. There are many other 9/11 elements that have no relation to the number 11. For example, "World Trade Center", "Twin Towers", "Osama Bin Laden", "American Airlines," "United Airlines" and a great many other 9/11 related items do not add up to the number eleven. In fact, hundreds of items could be legitimately included on such a list, the majority of which have no "eleven" connection. In other words, the person who created this "elevens" list carefully chose only those 9/11 related items that fit the pattern and discarded all others.
Furthermore, the hoaxster is apparently quite willing to bend the truth to fit the story. Flight 77 was carrying 64 people not 65 as claimed in the email. The message also claims that Flight 77 hit the Twin Towers. However, Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, not the World Trade Center.
In addition, the email states that the "total number of victims inside all the hi-jacked planes was 254". However, this is untrue. Various reliable sources concur that the total number of people on the hijacked planes was 265 (see Data Table below). If you subtract the 19 hijackers, the total number of victims on the planes (passengers and crew) was 246 not 254. Neither 265 nor 246 add up to eleven.
Thus, claims of some supernatural association between the terrorist attacks and the number 11 are blatantly contrived and highly misleading.
The second part of the message claims that Chapter 9 Verse 11 (9.11) of the Islamic holy book the Quran contains a startling prophecy presumably related to the US invasion of Iraq. However, research indicates that the quoted verse does not appear in the Quran at all. Chapter 9 Verse 11 of the Quran is concerned with repentance and charity. Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation Of The Holy Qur'an, records Verse 11 as:
But (even so), if they repent, establish regular prayers, and practise regular charity,- they are your brethren in Faith: (thus) do We explain the Signs in detail, for those who understand.
Other translations may differ slightly in wording but carry essentially the same message. None make mention of the "wrath of the Eagle" or any other elements contained in the "verse" quoted in the message.
The Quran "verse" has also circulated as a separate message with the following description:
This is something to think about! Since America is typically represented by an eagle. Saddam should have read up on his Muslim passages...
The final part of this hoax email claims that changing "Q33 NY" to the Wingdings symbol font in Microsoft Word will reveal a hidden message directly related to the 9/11 attack on the twin towers. Q33 NY rendered in Wingdings is:
Certainly, this combination of symbols is likely to make even the most cynical readers do a double take when they first observe it. However, a minimal amount of research reveals that the Wingdings claim is based on an outrageous lie and therefore has no validity what so ever. None of the planes involved in the 9/11 attacks had the flight number "Q33 NY". The flight numbers of the planes that crashed into the Twin Towers were in fact "11" and "175". Clearly, someone has simply made up this supposed flight number in an attempt to make the spurious claim seem valid. In an absurd twist, the current version of the hoax actually contradicts itself. One part of the message states, "The first plane crashing against the Twin Towers was flight number 11." Later in the same message it states "Type in capitals Q33 NY. This is the flight number of the first plane to hit one of the Twin Towers."
Some have claimed that "Q33 NY" was actually the tail or registration number of one of the planes. However, this is also untrue. The actual tail number of Flight 11 was "N334AA". Nor did any of the other hijacked aircraft have the registration number "Q33 NY" (see Data Table below). Searches of the Federal Aviation Administration website afforded no results for "Q33 NY". In fact, most civil aircraft registrations in the United States start with the letter "N" and nationality and registration markings are commonly referred to as "N-Numbers".
Flight and tail numbers aside, the Star of David in the Wingdings "message" has little relevance to 9/11 since the attacks were not perpetrated by or directed at those of Jewish faith. This hoax actually builds on a foolish conspiracy theory involving Wingdings that goes back as far as 1992. Typing "NYC" ("New York City") in Wingdings reveals a skull and crossbones symbol, the Star of David, and a thumbs up symbol. This has been interpreted by some conspiracy-theorists as a deliberate anti-Semitic message. Microsoft has denied that this arrangement of symbols is anything more than an unfortunate coincidence.
In short, this email message is a load of baloney and it should not be forwarded. Hoaxes that perpetrate falsehoods about real terrorist attacks are especially heinous. One wonders at the mentality, and motives, of the imbeciles who create hoaxes of this nature. This hoax message dishonours the memory of those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks. Please do not forward it.
