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Usama bin Laden's Son Says He Wants to Be 'Ambassador for Peace' Between
Muslims and the West
Thursday, January 17, 2008
CAIRO, Egypt - Omar Usama bin Laden bears a striking resemblance to his
notorious father - except for the dreadlocks that dangle halfway down his
back. Then there's the black leather biker jacket.
The 26-year-old does not renounce his father, Al Qaeda leader Usama bin
Laden, but in an interview with The Associated Press, he said there is a
better way to defend Islam than militancy: Omar wants to be an "ambassador
for peace" between Muslims and the West.
Omar - one of bin Laden's 19 children - raised a tabloid storm last year
when he married a 52-year-old British woman, Jane Felix-Browne, who took the
name Zaina Alsabah. Now the couple say they want to be advocates, planning a
3,000-mile horse race across North Africa to draw attention to the cause of
peace.
"It's about changing the ideas of the Western mind. A lot of people think
Arabs - especially the bin Ladens, especially the sons of Usama - are all
terrorists. This is not the truth," Omar told the AP last week at a cafe in
a Cairo shopping mall.
Of course, many may have a hard time getting their mind around the idea of
"bin Laden: peacenik."
"Omar thinks he can be a negotiator," said Alsabah, who is trying to bring
her husband to Britain. "He's one of the only people who can do this in the
world."
Omar lived with the Al Qaeda leader in Sudan, then moved with him to
Afghanistan in 1996.
There, Omar says he trained at an Al Qaeda camp but in 2000 he decided there
must be another way and he left his father, returning to his homeland of
Saudi Arabia.
"I don't want to be in that situation to just fight. I like to find another
way and this other way may be like we do now, talking," he said in English.
He suggested his father did not oppose his leaving - and Alsabah interjected
that Omar was courageous in breaking away, but neither elaborated.
Although there is no way to confirm the details he describes of his
childhood and upbringing, the strong family resemblance and Omar's knowledge
of Usama's family life have convinced many that he is bin Laden's son.
U.S. and Egyptian intelligence officials have not commented on his identity,
but Omar and his wife insist they have not been bothered by Egyptian
officials.
Omar said he hasn't seen or been in contact with his father since leaving
Afghanistan. "He doesn't have e-mail," Omar said. "He doesn't take a
telephone ... if he had something like this, they will find him through
satellites."
Omar doesn't criticize his father and says Usama bin Laden is just trying to
defend the Islamic world.
"My father thinks he will be good for defending the Arab people and stop
anyone from hurting the Arab or Muslim people any place in the world," he
said, noting that the West didn't have a problem with his father when he was
fighting the Russians in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Omar is convinced a truce between the West and Al Qaeda 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,"
he said.
Usama bin Laden, believed to be in hiding in the Pakistan-Afghan border
region, offered a truce to Europe in a 2004 audiotape and a conditional
truce to the United States in a 2006 message. In November, he called on
European nations to pull out of Afghanistan in a message seen by some
experts as an effort to reach out to Europe.
But in a series of messages since last fall, he also has been calling for
Muslims to rally around jihad, or "holy war," encouraging fighters in Iraq
in particular to continue their battles with U.S. and Iraqi forces.
At least two of Usama bin Laden's sons, Hamza and Saad, are believed to have
an active role in Al Qaeda - with Hamza believed to be in the
Pakistan-Afghan border zone and Saad thought to be in Iran, perhaps in
Iranian custody.
But most of the Al Qaeda leader's children, like Omar, live as legitimate
businessmen. The family as a whole disowned Usama in 1994 when Saudi Arabia
stripped him of his citizenship because of his militant activities.
The family is wealthy: Usama bin Laden's billionaire father Mohammed, who
died in 1967, had more than 50 children and founded the Binladen Group, a
construction conglomerate that gets many major building contracts in the
kingdom.
Since leaving his father's side, Omar has lived in Saudi Arabia, where he
runs a contracting company connected with the Binladen Group, but he spends
much of his time in Egypt. It was during a desert horseback ride at the
Pyramids of Giza that he met his wife.
Their marriage in April made them tabloid fodder, particularly in Britain,
where headlines touted the "granny who married Usama bin Laden's son."
Alsabah, who has married five times, has five grandchildren.
The couple has applied for a visa to Britain. And they are planning their
endurance horse race across North Africa, which they hope to start in March.
It is in the planning stages - they are seeking approval of governments
along the route and need sponsors to help pay for the event and raise money
for child victims of war.
Omar said they plan to ride 30 miles a day, with periodic weeklong rests in
each country.
Teams from around the world will be encouraged to join in what the couple
envisions as an equine version of the Paris-Dakar car rally. That rally was
canceled this year due to fears over terrorist threats made by Al
Qaeda-affiliated groups in North Africa.
Omar, however, said he isn't worried.
"I heard the rally was stopped because of Al Qaeda," he said. "I don't think
they are going to stop me."
Usama bin Laden's Son Says He Wants to Be 'Ambassador for Peace' Between
Muslims and the West
Thursday, January 17, 2008
CAIRO, Egypt - Omar Usama bin Laden bears a striking resemblance to his
notorious father - except for the dreadlocks that dangle halfway down his
back. Then there's the black leather biker jacket.
The 26-year-old does not renounce his father, Al Qaeda leader Usama bin
Laden, but in an interview with The Associated Press, he said there is a
better way to defend Islam than militancy: Omar wants to be an "ambassador
for peace" between Muslims and the West.
Omar - one of bin Laden's 19 children - raised a tabloid storm last year
when he married a 52-year-old British woman, Jane Felix-Browne, who took the
name Zaina Alsabah. Now the couple say they want to be advocates, planning a
3,000-mile horse race across North Africa to draw attention to the cause of
peace.
"It's about changing the ideas of the Western mind. A lot of people think
Arabs - especially the bin Ladens, especially the sons of Usama - are all
terrorists. This is not the truth," Omar told the AP last week at a cafe in
a Cairo shopping mall.
Of course, many may have a hard time getting their mind around the idea of
"bin Laden: peacenik."
"Omar thinks he can be a negotiator," said Alsabah, who is trying to bring
her husband to Britain. "He's one of the only people who can do this in the
world."
Omar lived with the Al Qaeda leader in Sudan, then moved with him to
Afghanistan in 1996.
There, Omar says he trained at an Al Qaeda camp but in 2000 he decided there
must be another way and he left his father, returning to his homeland of
Saudi Arabia.
"I don't want to be in that situation to just fight. I like to find another
way and this other way may be like we do now, talking," he said in English.
He suggested his father did not oppose his leaving - and Alsabah interjected
that Omar was courageous in breaking away, but neither elaborated.
Although there is no way to confirm the details he describes of his
childhood and upbringing, the strong family resemblance and Omar's knowledge
of Usama's family life have convinced many that he is bin Laden's son.
U.S. and Egyptian intelligence officials have not commented on his identity,
but Omar and his wife insist they have not been bothered by Egyptian
officials.
Omar said he hasn't seen or been in contact with his father since leaving
Afghanistan. "He doesn't have e-mail," Omar said. "He doesn't take a
telephone ... if he had something like this, they will find him through
satellites."
Omar doesn't criticize his father and says Usama bin Laden is just trying to
defend the Islamic world.
"My father thinks he will be good for defending the Arab people and stop
anyone from hurting the Arab or Muslim people any place in the world," he
said, noting that the West didn't have a problem with his father when he was
fighting the Russians in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Omar is convinced a truce between the West and Al Qaeda 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,"
he said.
Usama bin Laden, believed to be in hiding in the Pakistan-Afghan border
region, offered a truce to Europe in a 2004 audiotape and a conditional
truce to the United States in a 2006 message. In November, he called on
European nations to pull out of Afghanistan in a message seen by some
experts as an effort to reach out to Europe.
But in a series of messages since last fall, he also has been calling for
Muslims to rally around jihad, or "holy war," encouraging fighters in Iraq
in particular to continue their battles with U.S. and Iraqi forces.
At least two of Usama bin Laden's sons, Hamza and Saad, are believed to have
an active role in Al Qaeda - with Hamza believed to be in the
Pakistan-Afghan border zone and Saad thought to be in Iran, perhaps in
Iranian custody.
But most of the Al Qaeda leader's children, like Omar, live as legitimate
businessmen. The family as a whole disowned Usama in 1994 when Saudi Arabia
stripped him of his citizenship because of his militant activities.
The family is wealthy: Usama bin Laden's billionaire father Mohammed, who
died in 1967, had more than 50 children and founded the Binladen Group, a
construction conglomerate that gets many major building contracts in the
kingdom.
Since leaving his father's side, Omar has lived in Saudi Arabia, where he
runs a contracting company connected with the Binladen Group, but he spends
much of his time in Egypt. It was during a desert horseback ride at the
Pyramids of Giza that he met his wife.
Their marriage in April made them tabloid fodder, particularly in Britain,
where headlines touted the "granny who married Usama bin Laden's son."
Alsabah, who has married five times, has five grandchildren.
The couple has applied for a visa to Britain. And they are planning their
endurance horse race across North Africa, which they hope to start in March.
It is in the planning stages - they are seeking approval of governments
along the route and need sponsors to help pay for the event and raise money
for child victims of war.
Omar said they plan to ride 30 miles a day, with periodic weeklong rests in
each country.
Teams from around the world will be encouraged to join in what the couple
envisions as an equine version of the Paris-Dakar car rally. That rally was
canceled this year due to fears over terrorist threats made by Al
Qaeda-affiliated groups in North Africa.
Omar, however, said he isn't worried.
"I heard the rally was stopped because of Al Qaeda," he said. "I don't think
they are going to stop me."
