Bin Laden, Osama (1957–)

Founder and spiritual leader of the international terrorist organization al-Qaeda and prime suspect in ordering the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. A member of one of the wealthiest families in the world, Osama bin Laden was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 1957, the last son of 52 siblings. In 1968, his father, Mohammed bin Laden, died in a helicopter accident, and at the age of 10 Osama inherited around $80 million. Osama bin Laden's religious beliefs were shaped by the influences of his childhood. He spent his youth in a strictly conservative part of Saudi Arabia known as the Hejaz. His education was based on the Koran and Sharia law, the Muslim religious code for living.

At age 19, bin Laden enrolled at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to study management and economics. While there, he began attending meetings of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic organization that advocates the return to the precepts of the Koran. At this time, his faith was made even more radical by the influence of three Islamic scholars. The first two were historical influences: the medieval Islamic scholar Taqi al-Din Ibn Tammiyah and the early 20th-century Egyptian scholar Mohammed Qutb, who saw the Western civilization as corrupted and irreligious. The third influence was contemporary: Shaykh Abdullah Azzam, bin Laden's mentor and an advocate of an aggressive and militant Islam.

Early Years of Resistance

In early 1980, bin Laden went to Pakistan and began supporting the Afghan resistance fighters, known as mujahideen, who were struggling against the Soviet invasion of their country. He soon moved to Afghanistan and, in addition to providing financial and logistical support for the resistance, bin Laden participated in battles and was wounded in 1989.

During his years in Pakistan and Afghanistan, bin Laden probably developed his idea for an international insurgent organization beyond the Afghan mujahideen. He envisioned a group that could help Muslims in what he saw as their struggle against the infidel governments oppressing them in places such as Palestine, the Philippines, and Kashmir. This organization eventually became known as al-Qaeda, which means “the base.”

After the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia. While there, the Saudis restricted his passport for international travel because they feared, based on his activities in Afghanistan, that he would start a new jihad, or holy [Page 74]war, in South Yemen. The following year, the Saudi government allowed U.S. troops to be stationed in Saudi Arabia in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Outraged by the presence of these infidel troops in the birthplace of Islam, bin Laden accused Saudi King Fahd of siding with the Jews and Christians against Muslims. Bin Laden's farm subsequently was raided and he was placed under house arrest for antigovernment activities. In 1991, bin Laden obtained travel documents for Pakistan and left Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government revoked his citizenship in 1991.

Years of Exile

After a brief stay in Afghanistan, bin Laden moved to the Sudan, where he lived until May 1996. In the Sudanese capital Khartoum, bin Laden established a series of businesses and developed al-Qaeda as an extensive international organization. Members of its terrorist network were involved in the Yemeni civil war, in financing Bosnian fighters, and in sponsoring or supporting terrorist attacks.

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