Ziad Jarrah - Early life Jarrah was born in Mazraa, Lebanon, to a wealthy family. His parents were nominally Muslim, although they lived a secular lifestyle. When he was seven years old, Israel invaded southern Lebanon, a fact he made reference towards later in life, although remaining apolitical. His parents sent him to a Catholic private school in Beirut, where he volunteered with a camp for disabled children, and helped run an anti-drugs program. His grades through this point however were low, and his parents arranged for private tutors to help his struggling grades in mathematics, physics and chemistry.He remained close to his family, and was apparently the only 9/11 hijacker to have close familial ties, including with his uncle Assem Omar Jarrah whose work permit would later be found in the wreckage with Ziad's passport. In his childhood, he had always wanted to fly planes, but his family discouraged this. I stopped him from being a pilot, his father told the Wall Street Journal a week after the attacks. I only have one son and I was afraid that he would crash. In the spring of 1996, Jarrah moved to Germany with his cousin Salim, to study German at the University of Greifswald. While sharing an apartment with his cousin, he reportedly attended discos and beach parties, and his attendance at the mosque fell. He met Aysel Seng Show less «