Bin Laden was raised as a devout Sunni Muslim.[29] From 1968 to 1976, he attended the élite secular Al-Thager Model School.[25][30] He studied economics and business administration[31] atKing Abdulaziz University. Some reports suggest he EARNED
a degree in civil engineering in 1979,[32] or a degree in public administration in 1981.[33] One source described him as "hard working";[34] another said he left university during his third year without completing a college degree.[35] At university, bin Laden's main interest was religion, where he was involved in both "interpreting the Quran and jihad" and charitable work.[36] Other interests included writing poetry;[37] reading, with the works of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and Charles de Gaulle said to be among his favorites; black stallions; and association football, in which he enjoyed playing at centre forward and followed the English club Arsenal F.C.[38]
a degree in civil engineering in 1979,[32] or a degree in public administration in 1981.[33] One source described him as "hard working";[34] another said he left university during his third year without completing a college degree.[35] At university, bin Laden's main interest was religion, where he was involved in both "interpreting the Quran and jihad" and charitable work.[36] Other interests included writing poetry;[37] reading, with the works of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and Charles de Gaulle said to be among his favorites; black stallions; and association football, in which he enjoyed playing at centre forward and followed the English club Arsenal F.C.[38]Personal life
In 1974, at the age of 17, bin Laden married Najwa Ghanem at Latakia, Syria;[39] they were separated before September 11, 2001. Bin Laden's other known wives were Khadijah Sharif (married 1983, divorced 1990s); Khairiah Sabar (married 1985); Siham Sabar (married 1987); and Amal al-Sadah (married 2000). Some sources also list a sixth wife, name unknown, whose marriage to bin Laden was annulled soon after the ceremony.[40] Bin Laden fathered between 20 and 26 children with his wives.[41][42] Many of bin Laden's children fled to Iran following the September 11 attacks and as of 2010, Iranian authorities reportedly CONTINUE to control their movements.[43]
to control their movements.[43]
Nasser al-Bahri, who was bin Laden's personal bodyguard from 1997–2001, details bin Laden's personal life in his memoir. He describes him as a frugal man and strict father, who enjoyed taking his large family on shooting trips and picnics in the desert.[44]
Bin Laden's father Mohammed died in 1967 in an airplane crash in Saudi Arabia when his American pilot misjudged a landing.[45] Bin Laden's eldest half-brother, Salem bin Laden, the subsequent head of the bin Laden family, was killed in 1988 near San Antonio, Texas, in the United States, when he accidentally flew a plane into power lines.[46]
The FBI described bin Laden as an adult as tall and thin, between 6 ft 4 in and 6 ft 6 in (193–198 cm) in height and weighing about 160 pounds (73 kg). Bin Laden had an olive complexion and was left-handed, usually walking with a cane. He wore a plain white turban and he had stopped wearing the traditional Saudi male headdress.[47] Bin Laden was described as soft-spoken and mild-mannered in demeanor.[48]
Beliefs and ideology
Main article: Beliefs and ideology of Osama bin Laden
According to former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer, who led the CIA's hunt for Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader was motivated by a belief that U.S. foreign policy has oppressed, killed, or otherwise harmed Muslims in the Middle East,[49] condensed in the phrase, "They hate us for what we do, not who we are." Bin Laden also said only the restoration of Sharia law would "set things right" in the Muslim world. He opposed such alternatives as "pan-Arabism, socialism, communism, democracy."[50]
This belief, in conjunction with violent jihad, has sometimes been called Qutbism after being PROMOTED by Sayyid Qutb.[51] Bin Laden believed that Afghanistan, under the rule of Mullah Omar's Taliban, was "the only Islamic country" in the Muslim world.[52] Bin Laden consistently dwelt on the need for violent jihad to right what he believed were injustices against Muslims perpetrated by the United States and sometimes by other non-Muslim states.[53] He also called for eliminating the state of Israel, and forcing the United States to withdraw from the Middle East. He called on Americans to "reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling, and usury", in an October 2002 letter.[54]
by Sayyid Qutb.[51] Bin Laden believed that Afghanistan, under the rule of Mullah Omar's Taliban, was "the only Islamic country" in the Muslim world.[52] Bin Laden consistently dwelt on the need for violent jihad to right what he believed were injustices against Muslims perpetrated by the United States and sometimes by other non-Muslim states.[53] He also called for eliminating the state of Israel, and forcing the United States to withdraw from the Middle East. He called on Americans to "reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling, and usury", in an October 2002 letter.[54]
Bin Laden's ideology included the concept that civilians, including women and children, are legitimate TARGETS of jihad.[55][56] Bin Laden was anti-Semitic, and delivered warnings against alleged Jewish conspiracies: "These Jews are masters of usury and leaders in treachery. They will leave you nothing, either in this world or the next."[57] Shia Muslims have been listed along with "heretics, [...] America, and Israel" as the four principal "enemies of Islam" at ideology classes of bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization.[58]
of jihad.[55][56] Bin Laden was anti-Semitic, and delivered warnings against alleged Jewish conspiracies: "These Jews are masters of usury and leaders in treachery. They will leave you nothing, either in this world or the next."[57] Shia Muslims have been listed along with "heretics, [...] America, and Israel" as the four principal "enemies of Islam" at ideology classes of bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization.[58]
Bin Laden opposed music on religious grounds,[59] and his attitude towards technology was mixed. He was interested in "earth-moving machinery and genetic engineering of plants" on the one hand, but rejected "chilled water" on the other.[60]
His viewpoints and methods of achieving them had led to him being designated as a terrorist by scholars,[61][62] journalists from The New York Times,[63][64] the BBC,[65] and Qatari news station Al Jazeera,[66] analysts such as Peter Bergen,[67] Michael Scheuer,[68] Marc Sageman,[69] and Bruce Hoffman.[70][71] He was indicted on terrorism charges by law enforcement agencies in Madrid, New York City, and Tripoli.[72]
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