Who was Osama bin Laden | In the Words of People Connected to Osama bin Laden | Chinar24

Who was Osama bin Laden, the main character of the 9/11 attacks in America? How did a noble Saudi boy emerge as the leader of a militant organization?

Osama Bin Laden - File Photo
Used for Providing Information Only.
Photo Credit: Al-Jazeera

In this article, we will learn about Osama's personality through the words of Osama bin Laden's son, mother, friends and Afghan commanders.

We will learn about Osama bin Laden through the words of people connected to Osama bin Laden in his life, in this article. So let's start:

Osama bin Laden was born on March 10, 1957, into a prominent family in Saudi Arabia. He belonged to a wealthy family. Osama's father, whose name was Muhammad bin Laden, owned a large construction company and was among the richest men in Saudi Arabia at that time. His family was also in contact with the Saudi royal family.

Osama bin Laden's Personality by His Mother

Osama bin Laden's mother came to the public for the first time in 2018. Her name was Ayla Ghanem. She said that Osama was a very simple and shy boy in his childhood. But his personality changed when he was studying at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. According to her, at the university, people from extremist organizations surrounded him, thinking he was rich, and started brainwashing him. The mother said that Osama's older sister often fought with him because of Osama's changing personality and told him to stay away from these extremist people. 

Rare Picture of Osama bin Laden as a Young Man.
Osama can be seen dressed as a Karate Player.

Osama bin Laden's mother also revealed that during his student days, one of Osama's university friends was expelled from Saudi Arabia for preaching extremism and sectarianism. When the investigation was conducted today, it came to light that during Osama bin Laden's university days, Abdullah Azzam, who was a member of the Ahwan al-Muslimeen (an extremist militant group) , was very close to him. He was also expelled from Saudi Arabia for his preaching activities. But in the future, Osama bin Laden became his spiritual advisor.

Osama bin Laden's mother was also devastated, saying that she often told him to stay away from these extremists, but he would not tell us anything about what he was doing.

Osama bin Laden's mother also said that her son spent all his father's wealth on the war in Afghanistan, although he left home under the pretext of business.

Osama bin Laden's Son's Thoughts about His Father

Omer bin Laden - S/O Osama bin Laden
Credit: BBC

Osama bin Laden's son, whose name is Omar bin Laden, is currently living in Qatar. In an interview, he said about his father that his father was no different from other people. His personality was very gentle but sometimes he would also adopt a very strict attitude. He loved his wife and children very much but was not ready to back down from his goal and target.

Laden's son said that overall his father was a tough person with strong views.

Omar bin Laden said that until the 90s, his father was not wanted in any case. However, after that, during the war with the Soviet Union, my father gained some popularity. After participating in the war, he completely lost contact with his family. He further said that when his father participated in the war with the Soviet Union, he left Saudi Arabia for Afghanistan for fear of informing the Saudi royal family.

When Omar bin Laden was asked about the 9/11 attacks, he said that we were well aware of these attacks, it was not a surprise to us. My father had been preparing for these attacks for a long time. According to him, his father wanted to harm America because of its atrocities on Muslim countries.

Omar bin Laden said that I lived with my father in Afghanistan for some time along with my mother Najwi Ghanem. But before 9/11, they were sent from Afghanistan.

Omar bin Laden said that even today, because I am Osama bin Laden's son, people shy away from us and are afraid to contact us. That is why I often do not introduce myself and lie.

A Spanish Woman who Met Osama in the UK, Her Thoughts on Osama bin Laden

When Osama bin Laden was 14 years old, he went to Oxford, England, with his brother to take a language course. It was probably in 1971. During this time, he met a Spanish woman, who later expressed her thoughts about Osama bin Laden in an interview.

Osama bi Laden, standing on the far right corner.
Accompanied by probably Spanish Girls.

The Spanish woman said that Osama bin Laden was a boy from a wealthy family. His personality was calm and simple. At that time, it was also heard that the boy's father was the owner of a large construction company in Saudi Arabia and was very close to the Saudi royal family. The Spanish woman also mentioned that Osama's father died in a helicopter crash, after whose death Osama and his siblings received assets worth about 250 million US dollars.

Osama bin Laden's Childhood Teacher's Description of Osama's Personality

Osama bin Laden was also studying at a prominent English school in Jeddah as a child. His teacher, whose name was Brian Fifield Schiller (probably), said that Osama was a very shy student. He had no real interest in religion and faith, even though he was a liberal type of child. All the other students in the class asked him to convert to Islam, but Osama never talked about Islam.

The teacher said that Osama's half-siblings were probably living abroad and had adopted Western life, but Osama had a strong disagreement with them. Osama was certainly liberal, but he was a sincere believer in Islam. He also said that Osama turned to extremism and terrorism after going to university.

A Friend of Osama bin Laden Who was also Afraid of His Extremist Behaviour

Osama bin Laden with His Friend, Khalid Batrafi.

A childhood friend of Osama bin Laden, named Khalid Batrafi, came to the media some time ago. He said that Osama was not like this when he was a child.

Osama's friend said that a person does not change himself, war changes him. This is what happened to Osama bin Laden.

Khalid Batrafi said that during his university days, he met friends who brainwashed him. After that, Osama became convinced of extremist and sectarian thinking. Osama also supported the ideas of an extremist organization in Egypt and later himself joined the extremist group Al-Qaeda.

Saudi Intelligence Chief's Thoughts on Osama bin Laden

After the Soviet war in Afghanistan ended, Osama returned to Saudi Arabia. But by then his ideas and views had completely changed.

Prince Turki al-Faisal, the head of Saudi intelligence, who was in contact with Osama bin Laden for some time, said that when Egypt was in turmoil, Osama advised him to train Mujahideen fighters and send them to the battlefield. 

In 1991, due to Osama bin Laden's affiliation with extremist groups and actions against the Saudi government, his Saudi citizenship was suspended and he was deported. He then went to Sudan. But he was expelled from there a short time later and he again permanently settled in Afghanistan.

Some Aspects of Osama bin Laden's Life in Afghanistan

Afghan Mujahideen Commander named Syed Muhammad Yar said that in the mid-1980s, 12 people from Saudi Arabia joined our group. This was nothing new to us. But we were surprised when one of them, a young man named Osama, was not even familiar with war and weapons, but was funding the Mujahideen on a large scale. This was also confirmed by Usama bin Laden's mother that Osama had wasted his father's wealth in the Afghan war.

Osama bin Laden in the Cave during Afghan War - 1980s

Osama bin Laden was not an expert in fighting in the beginning and did not have any knowledge of weapons. But since his father had a construction company, he drove a bulldozer in Afghanistan in the early days and built roads in the mountains for the Mujahideen. Apart from that, he also called some engineers from his construction company to Afghanistan. Since he himself was a civil engineer, he would dig tunnels through the mountains, set up medical clinics in them, and build roads in the mountains. In this way, he made transportation quite easy for the Mujahideen. 

He himself worked as a simple bulldozer driver, but very few Mujahideen knew that this single person was doing all our funding.

After that, he gradually learned to shoot a gun, learned to fight. After that, he started fighting regularly with Mujahideen troops.

Syed Wahid Yar, who was an Afghan commander, said that before Osama bin Laden came, the Mujahideen were facing a lot of difficulties in moving forward. But Osama bin Laden set up his construction company there and paved the way for the Mujahideen.

At LAST

Osama bin Laden was wanted for being the main character of the 9/11 attacks in the United States. He spent a few years on the run and in hiding. He was finally killed in an American Operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan in 2011. 

The House where Osama stayed in his Last days in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Later, He was killed here in American Operation.

Special Thanks to BBC/URDU