Omar Osama bin Laden
Encyclopedia
Omar bin Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden , better known as Omar bin Laden, is one of the sons of Osama bin Laden
and his first wife and first cousin Najwa Ghanem
(see Bin Laden family
). He is the 4th eldest son among twenty children of Osama bin Laden. Older reports have described him and his brother Abdullah bin Laden as nephews or cousins of Osama bin Laden.
, whose partisan activities shaped his childhood. Bin Laden accompanied his father on his exile to Sudan
from 1991 to 1996, and then to Afghanistan
after that. He has said that he trained in al-Qaeda
camps beginning at the age of 14, but after training with al-Qaeda for 6 years and sharing a house with al-Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri
, he left al-Qaeda in 2000 because he didn't want to be associated with killing civilians and his father Osama didn't object.
Bin Laden was in Saudi Arabia
when the September 11 attacks occurred. A special chartered flight to Saudi Arabia, embarking eight days after the September 11th attacks, carried 13 bin Laden relatives including Omar Awad bin Laden, described as a nephew of Osama bin Laden
living with Omar's cousin Abdullah bin Laden, founder of WAMY
, out of the United States
Bin Laden runs his own company in Jeddah
as a contractor and scrap metal dealer. Jeddah, a major city and important transit port for Saudi Arabia, is the site of the headquarters of the Saudi Binladen Group and has been reported to be "truly" ruled by Bakr bin Laden
.
, near Northwich
in Cheshire
in the United Kingdom
, in July 2007. The marriage was conducted in September 2006 in Islamic ceremonies in both Egypt and Saudi Arabia, after which the couple spent a few months together in Jeddah before Zaina returned to Britain for several weeks. Zaina had been married five times previously, beginning with a Saudi man at the age of 16, who introduced her to several members of the bin Laden family
. She believes she met Osama bin Laden at a party in London in the 1970s.
She met bin Laden while she was undergoing treatment for multiple sclerosis
. Their mutual love of horses brought them together when they met on a ride at the Giza pyramids in Egypt. She is his second wife and is 24 years older than he is, with five grandchildren. She was aware when she married Omar that he had already been married, with a two-year-old son.
After their wedding, Al-Sabah described the stress of bin Laden's family background: "Omar is wary of everyone. He is constantly watching people who he feels might be following him. Not without reason he is fearful of cameras. He is the son of Osama. But when we are together he forgets his life." The couple announced their divorce in September 2007, which was said to be in response to threats to their "lives and liberty" from two unspecified sources known to them in Saudi Arabia. At the time, Al-Sabah said she didn't regard herself as divorced and that the divorce under duress did not have legal standing under Sharia
law. After 2 weeks Zaina and Omar decided not to part and would not let threats destroy their marriage. They're now together, have just finished filming for a BBC
documentary, and plan to live in Europe.
Bin Laden has applied for a British
spousal immigration visa which would permit him to reside indefinitely at his wife's home in Moulton, Cheshire
, a process which required him to provide original documentation of his divorce from his first wife. The couple stated their desire to have a child using a surrogate mother. One report stated the visa application was denied because Omar failed to provide his father's permanent address. However, a later report by The Times
of Omar's appeal stated that the visa had been denied by an entry clearance officer at the British embassy in Cairo because Omar's entry would cause "considerable public concern". The officer was quoted, "I note that statements made during recent media interviews indicate evidence of continuing loyalty to your father, and your presence in the UK could, therefore, cause considerable public concern." This written statement was shown to The Associated Press by the couple's legal firm, but Britain's Home Office
declined to comment to the press on an individual case. Bin Laden and Al-Sabah have appealed the ruling, calling it "unjust and arbitrary", stating that Al-Sabah requires medical attention in Britain and that her appeal to live with him in Saudi Arabia could take years to process. They have a house in Cairo, and in April 2008, bin Laden was issued a Schengen visa allowing him to freely travel in most of Europe, but the couple have "no place truly to call a home". When it became apparent in mid-April that the visa application had likely been denied, Al-Sabah promised to take the case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights
, saying that they already had a Member of European Parliament and an immigration lawyer working with them.
Widespread news coverage beginning with an Associated Press
interview in Cairo
, Egypt
on January 11, 2008 has featured bin Laden with cornrows and a black leather biker jacket promoting a 3000 miles (4,828 km) horse race for peace
across North Africa. The race is in the planning stages, awaiting approval from governments along the route and sponsors to provide money to benefit child victims of war. The plan calls for the race to proceed 30 miles (48.3 km) each day, with week-long rests in each country. It is scheduled to begin in March. PETA
president Ingrid E. Newkirk has called for the cancellation of the race in an "urgent letter" from the organization, predicting that the gruelling race would lead to fatalities among the horses. PETA has reported that the bin Ladens have emailed correspondence stating that the horse race will not be conducted in summer or in the midday sun and that veterinary care will be provided.
Omar describes the race as an equine counterpart to the cancelled 2008 Paris-Dakar car rally
, saying "I heard the rally was stopped because of al-Qaida. I don't think they are going to stop me." The race was canceled after the killings of four French tourists near Aleg
, Mauritania
on Christmas Eve
2007. Following the murders race organizers received threats directly from heavily armed and organized groups linked to al-Qaeda, which led them to cancel the race on January 4, 2008 and soon after to plan the 2009 event for South America. Police in Guinea-Bissau
said that two of five men arrested for the crime on January 11, 2008 admitted al-Qaeda
involvement.
and has said that his dad feels that he's just trying to defend the Islamic world, and that his father is not a terrorist "because history tells you he's not". In an interview with ABC News
he said, "My father is very kind man. And he very sorry when he do something like 11th September." Osama ordered the attacks "Because he believes if he put two buildings down, maybe some people, little will die, but millions other will (be) save(d). He believed that. ... I believe he did it the wrong," In a January 21, 2008 CNN
interview, he said "I try and say to my father: 'Try to find another way to help or find your goal. This bomb, this weapons, it's not good to use it for anybody,' " Regarding the September 11 attacks he said, "I don't think 9/11 was right personally, but it happened. I don't think ... [the war] in Vietnam was right. I don't think what's going on in Palestine is right. I don't think what's going on in Iraq is right. If we make what is right and not right, we will make a very big list."
Bin Laden stated that he had not been in contact with his father since leaving Afghanistan in 2000. He has said "The last time I saw my father was in 2000, 2001. I was in Saudi Arabia and felt a terrible sorrow for all the victims" (of the September 11 attacks)", "My father has a kind heart", and "I do not believe my father is dead, otherwise I would have known it; the world would have known it." When asked whether he would tell the Americans if he found out where his father was living, he said with a smile "Actually, I would hide him. Because he is my father."
According to Time Magazine's website, bin Laden has stated a desire to become an "ambassador of peace" between Muslims and the West. Omar has said that Osama bin Laden offered a truce to Europe in a 2004 videotape and a conditional truce with the United States in a 2006 videotape
, and believes a truce is possible. "My father is asking for a truce but I don't think there is any government (that) respects him. At the same time they do not respect him, why everywhere in the world, they want to fight him? There is a contradiction." The truces offered in these videos of Osama bin Laden
were promptly rejected at the time.
After arriving in Rome
from Switzerland
amid heavy security on February 2, bin Laden said in a television interview that night "I would very much like to meet the Pope
in St Peter's
, but I have been told that it is not easy."
's Interior Ministry, upon recommendation by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, denied, for "insufficient evidence of danger or threat to [his] life," Omar's political asylum
petition, after he was refused a UK visa
. Omar, 27, had 24 hours to appeal, after he made his claim at Madrid's Barajas International Airport upon a stopover on a flight from Cairo, Egypt to Casablanca, Morocco.
Bin Laden and his wife arrived in Doha
, Qatar
(where, as a Saudi citizen with Saudi passport, he would have right of entry), on November 9, after deportation
by Egypt per its denial of their entry. Omar filed another British visa petition, which will only be considered by February 2009. His wife, Zaina Alsabah Bin Laden, stated they wanted to come to New Zealand
. But Immigration New Zealand was silent on whether the couple applied for visa, while Immigration consultant Aussie Malcolm said: "he did not think Mr bin Laden would be allowed to come here as it was clear he did not want to stay in his own country and would be looking for asylum."
in late October 2009, titled Growing Up bin Laden. According to media coverage, the book details that "the kids grew up in Saudi Arabia
, Sudan
, and Afghanistan
without laughter or toys, were routinely beaten, and lost their pets to painful death from poison gas experiments by their father's fighters". It states that Osama bin Laden
tried to persuade his son to volunteer for suicide missions and exposed him to dangerous conditions visiting training camps in Afghanistan and sending him to the front lines of the Afghan civil war. The book describes the family living in Jeddah
without air conditioning or refrigeration, treating asthma
with honeycomb
s and onion
s, and eventually moving to stone huts in Tora Bora
without electricity or running water in 1996. Subsequent correspondence with the Associated Press indicated that 25 bin Laden family members had moved to Iran
, following U.S.
involvement in Afghanistan.
deprived the family of a proper burial.
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
and his first wife and first cousin Najwa Ghanem
Najwa Ghanem
Najwa bin Laden , née Ghanem, is a Syrian woman who was the first wife and first cousin of Osama bin Laden. Her father is the brother of Osama's mother, Hamida al-Attas . Najwa was "promised" in marriage to Osama. She is the mother of Saad bin Laden, as well as at least 10 more children...
(see Bin Laden family
Bin Laden family
The bin Laden family , also spelled bin Ladin, is a wealthy family intimately connected with the innermost circles of the Saudi royal family. The family was thrown into media spotlight through the activities of one of its members, Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks...
). He is the 4th eldest son among twenty children of Osama bin Laden. Older reports have described him and his brother Abdullah bin Laden as nephews or cousins of Osama bin Laden.
Childhood
Bin Laden was born the grandson of Muhammed bin Awad bin Laden, the founder of what has been said to be the wealthiest non-royal family in Saudi Arabia, and the son of Osama bin LadenOsama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, whose partisan activities shaped his childhood. Bin Laden accompanied his father on his exile to Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
from 1991 to 1996, and then to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
after that. He has said that he trained in al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
camps beginning at the age of 14, but after training with al-Qaeda for 6 years and sharing a house with al-Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
, he left al-Qaeda in 2000 because he didn't want to be associated with killing civilians and his father Osama didn't object.
Adult life
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
when the September 11 attacks occurred. A special chartered flight to Saudi Arabia, embarking eight days after the September 11th attacks, carried 13 bin Laden relatives including Omar Awad bin Laden, described as a nephew of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
living with Omar's cousin Abdullah bin Laden, founder of WAMY
World Assembly of Muslim Youth
"We need thousands of these organizations all over the world. According to the Americans themselves, there are more than 1.5 million organizations in the US. When you look at the Muslim world, there are no more than 50,000...
, out of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Bin Laden runs his own company in Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
as a contractor and scrap metal dealer. Jeddah, a major city and important transit port for Saudi Arabia, is the site of the headquarters of the Saudi Binladen Group and has been reported to be "truly" ruled by Bakr bin Laden
Bakr bin Laden
Bakr bin Laden, brother of Osama bin Laden, is the chairman of the Jeddah-based Saudi Binladin Group and the largest majority shareholder in the Group, with a 23.58% holding....
.
Marriage to Zaina Mohamed Al-Sabah
He married Jane Felix-Browne, legally named Zaina Mohamed Al-Sabah, a parish councillor from MoultonMoulton
- Places in the United Kingdom :In England*Moulton, Cheshire*Moulton, Lincolnshire**Moulton Windmill*Moulton St Mary, Norfolk*Moulton, Northamptonshire**Moulton College, agricultural college**Moulton Park, industrial estate*Moulton, Suffolk...
, near Northwich
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, in July 2007. The marriage was conducted in September 2006 in Islamic ceremonies in both Egypt and Saudi Arabia, after which the couple spent a few months together in Jeddah before Zaina returned to Britain for several weeks. Zaina had been married five times previously, beginning with a Saudi man at the age of 16, who introduced her to several members of the bin Laden family
Bin Laden family
The bin Laden family , also spelled bin Ladin, is a wealthy family intimately connected with the innermost circles of the Saudi royal family. The family was thrown into media spotlight through the activities of one of its members, Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks...
. She believes she met Osama bin Laden at a party in London in the 1970s.
She met bin Laden while she was undergoing treatment for multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
. Their mutual love of horses brought them together when they met on a ride at the Giza pyramids in Egypt. She is his second wife and is 24 years older than he is, with five grandchildren. She was aware when she married Omar that he had already been married, with a two-year-old son.
After their wedding, Al-Sabah described the stress of bin Laden's family background: "Omar is wary of everyone. He is constantly watching people who he feels might be following him. Not without reason he is fearful of cameras. He is the son of Osama. But when we are together he forgets his life." The couple announced their divorce in September 2007, which was said to be in response to threats to their "lives and liberty" from two unspecified sources known to them in Saudi Arabia. At the time, Al-Sabah said she didn't regard herself as divorced and that the divorce under duress did not have legal standing under Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law. After 2 weeks Zaina and Omar decided not to part and would not let threats destroy their marriage. They're now together, have just finished filming for a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary, and plan to live in Europe.
Bin Laden has applied for a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
spousal immigration visa which would permit him to reside indefinitely at his wife's home in Moulton, Cheshire
Moulton, Cheshire
thumb|right|200px|Map of civil parish of Moulton within the former borough of Vale RoyalMoulton is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and near the centre of the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, situated south of Northwich and north of...
, a process which required him to provide original documentation of his divorce from his first wife. The couple stated their desire to have a child using a surrogate mother. One report stated the visa application was denied because Omar failed to provide his father's permanent address. However, a later report by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
of Omar's appeal stated that the visa had been denied by an entry clearance officer at the British embassy in Cairo because Omar's entry would cause "considerable public concern". The officer was quoted, "I note that statements made during recent media interviews indicate evidence of continuing loyalty to your father, and your presence in the UK could, therefore, cause considerable public concern." This written statement was shown to The Associated Press by the couple's legal firm, but Britain's Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
declined to comment to the press on an individual case. Bin Laden and Al-Sabah have appealed the ruling, calling it "unjust and arbitrary", stating that Al-Sabah requires medical attention in Britain and that her appeal to live with him in Saudi Arabia could take years to process. They have a house in Cairo, and in April 2008, bin Laden was issued a Schengen visa allowing him to freely travel in most of Europe, but the couple have "no place truly to call a home". When it became apparent in mid-April that the visa application had likely been denied, Al-Sabah promised to take the case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
, saying that they already had a Member of European Parliament and an immigration lawyer working with them.
North African horse race
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
interview in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
on January 11, 2008 has featured bin Laden with cornrows and a black leather biker jacket promoting a 3000 miles (4,828 km) horse race for peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
across North Africa. The race is in the planning stages, awaiting approval from governments along the route and sponsors to provide money to benefit child victims of war. The plan calls for the race to proceed 30 miles (48.3 km) each day, with week-long rests in each country. It is scheduled to begin in March. PETA
Peta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
president Ingrid E. Newkirk has called for the cancellation of the race in an "urgent letter" from the organization, predicting that the gruelling race would lead to fatalities among the horses. PETA has reported that the bin Ladens have emailed correspondence stating that the horse race will not be conducted in summer or in the midday sun and that veterinary care will be provided.
Omar describes the race as an equine counterpart to the cancelled 2008 Paris-Dakar car rally
Dakar Rally
The Dakar Rally is an annual rally raid type of off-road automobile race, organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation...
, saying "I heard the rally was stopped because of al-Qaida. I don't think they are going to stop me." The race was canceled after the killings of four French tourists near Aleg
Aleg
Aleg is the capital of the Brakna Region, Mauritania. It is located at .The town is known as the birthplace of former President of Mauritania, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi....
, Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
2007. Following the murders race organizers received threats directly from heavily armed and organized groups linked to al-Qaeda, which led them to cancel the race on January 4, 2008 and soon after to plan the 2009 event for South America. Police in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
said that two of five men arrested for the crime on January 11, 2008 admitted al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
involvement.
Relationship to his father and al-Qaeda
Bin Laden has said he does criticize his father Osama bin LadenOsama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
and has said that his dad feels that he's just trying to defend the Islamic world, and that his father is not a terrorist "because history tells you he's not". In an interview with ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
he said, "My father is very kind man. And he very sorry when he do something like 11th September." Osama ordered the attacks "Because he believes if he put two buildings down, maybe some people, little will die, but millions other will (be) save(d). He believed that. ... I believe he did it the wrong," In a January 21, 2008 CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
interview, he said "I try and say to my father: 'Try to find another way to help or find your goal. This bomb, this weapons, it's not good to use it for anybody,' " Regarding the September 11 attacks he said, "I don't think 9/11 was right personally, but it happened. I don't think ... [the war] in Vietnam was right. I don't think what's going on in Palestine is right. I don't think what's going on in Iraq is right. If we make what is right and not right, we will make a very big list."
Bin Laden stated that he had not been in contact with his father since leaving Afghanistan in 2000. He has said "The last time I saw my father was in 2000, 2001. I was in Saudi Arabia and felt a terrible sorrow for all the victims" (of the September 11 attacks)", "My father has a kind heart", and "I do not believe my father is dead, otherwise I would have known it; the world would have known it." When asked whether he would tell the Americans if he found out where his father was living, he said with a smile "Actually, I would hide him. Because he is my father."
According to Time Magazine's website, bin Laden has stated a desire to become an "ambassador of peace" between Muslims and the West. Omar has said that Osama bin Laden offered a truce to Europe in a 2004 videotape and a conditional truce with the United States in a 2006 videotape
19 January 2006 Osama bin Laden tape
An audio tape recording of a speech believed to be by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was released on January 19, 2006. The release of the tape came shortly after United States Central Intelligence Agency's airstrike of Damadola in Pakistan, an attack that reportedly led to the deaths of Midhat...
, and believes a truce is possible. "My father is asking for a truce but I don't think there is any government (that) respects him. At the same time they do not respect him, why everywhere in the world, they want to fight him? There is a contradiction." The truces offered in these videos of Osama bin Laden
Videos of Osama bin Laden
There were several video and audio recordings released by, or claiming to be produced by, Osama bin Laden between 2001 and 2011. Most of the tapes were released directly to Arabic language satellite television networks, primarily Al Jazeera....
were promptly rejected at the time.
After arriving in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
from Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
amid heavy security on February 2, bin Laden said in a television interview that night "I would very much like to meet the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
in St Peter's
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
, but I have been told that it is not easy."
Asylum petitions
On November 3, 2008, SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
's Interior Ministry, upon recommendation by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, denied, for "insufficient evidence of danger or threat to [his] life," Omar's political asylum
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
petition, after he was refused a UK visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
. Omar, 27, had 24 hours to appeal, after he made his claim at Madrid's Barajas International Airport upon a stopover on a flight from Cairo, Egypt to Casablanca, Morocco.
Bin Laden and his wife arrived in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
(where, as a Saudi citizen with Saudi passport, he would have right of entry), on November 9, after deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
by Egypt per its denial of their entry. Omar filed another British visa petition, which will only be considered by February 2009. His wife, Zaina Alsabah Bin Laden, stated they wanted to come to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. But Immigration New Zealand was silent on whether the couple applied for visa, while Immigration consultant Aussie Malcolm said: "he did not think Mr bin Laden would be allowed to come here as it was clear he did not want to stay in his own country and would be looking for asylum."
Book
Bin Laden and his mother Najwa bin Laden published a book authored with Jean SassonJean Sasson
Jean P. Sasson , is an American writer whose work mainly centers around women in the Middle East and the injustices that they suffer at the hands of a patriarchal society.-Biography:...
in late October 2009, titled Growing Up bin Laden. According to media coverage, the book details that "the kids grew up in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
without laughter or toys, were routinely beaten, and lost their pets to painful death from poison gas experiments by their father's fighters". It states that Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
tried to persuade his son to volunteer for suicide missions and exposed him to dangerous conditions visiting training camps in Afghanistan and sending him to the front lines of the Afghan civil war. The book describes the family living in Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
without air conditioning or refrigeration, treating asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
with honeycomb
Honeycomb
A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal waxcells built by honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen.Beekeepers may remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey...
s and onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
s, and eventually moving to stone huts in Tora Bora
Tora Bora
Tora Bora , known locally as Spīn Ghar , is a cave complex situated in the White Mountains of eastern Afghanistan, in the Pachir Wa Agam District of Nangarhar province, approximately west of the Khyber Pass and north of the border of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan...
without electricity or running water in 1996. Subsequent correspondence with the Associated Press indicated that 25 bin Laden family members had moved to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, following U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
involvement in Afghanistan.
Death of his father
Bin Laden published a complaint on May 10, 2011, that the burial at sea of his father OsamaOsama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
deprived the family of a proper burial.