This past week marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Osama bin Laden. Although bin Laden is arguably the most infamous person of our generation, I know little about his life before 9/11.
Where was he born?
Who was his family?
What events shaped his thinking?
Considering the enormous impact he had on the world, finding information about him was surprisingly challenging. I was also intrigued to find how events that shaped his life influence global geopolitics to this day.
Here’s my attempt to piece together Osama bin Laden’s story.
I hope you have your Friday morning cup of coffee ready. ☕️
Bin Laden’s Saudi Arabian upbringing
Bin Laden was born in 1957 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was the son of a billionaire named Mohammed Awad bin Laden who made his fortunes in construction and had a close relationship with the Saudi royal family. Osama was the seventh of the 54 children Mohammed had with 22 wives. Bin Laden’s mother, Alia Ghanem, was born in Syria and married Mohammed when she was 14 (Mohammed was in his fifties). She gave birth to Osama one year later, and Mohammed divorced her soon afterwards.
Here is a look at what life was like in Riyadh in the 1950s when bin Laden was a child:
Bin Laden attended a prestigious high school in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), and at the age of 18, he married his first cousin, 14-year-old Najwa Ghanem. He graduated from high school in 1976, and in the same year, Abdullah, his first child, was born. He went on to father more than 20 children with six wives.
He remained in Jeddah, where he went on to study economics at the King Abdul Aziz University where he was known by classmates for being extremely religious and resenting the growing western influence on Middle Eastern life. Added to this, his university days coincided with dramatic events in the Middle East in 1979 that, coupled with his religious fervour, created the perfect breeding ground for an extremist.
Here’s a brief look at events in the Middle East that influenced bin Laden’s thinking. If you are not too familiar with the geography of the Middle East, this map may be a useful frame of reference.
1979: Islamic uprisings in the Middle East
The Iranian Revolution
In the 1970s, Iran was ruled by a pro-western and authoritarian monarchy largely installed and supported by the UK and the US. But in 1979, an uprising lead by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini overthrew the monarchy to establish Iran as an Islamic republic. Overnight, Iran was transformed from a western ally into an enemy. A rivalry that lasts to this day.
The siege of Mecca’s Grand Mosque
In the same year, a group of rebels displeased with the westernisation and modernisation of the country attempted to overthrow the Saudi royal family through a siege of the Great Mosque of Mecca (Masjid al-Haram), Islam’s most holy site. With nearly 100 000 pilgrims as hostages, the mosque turned into a battle zone and hundreds of lives were lost.
It was only after two weeks and intense fighting, and with the support of French forces and the CIA, that the Saudi government forces could reclaim the site. Bin Laden (whose family constructed much of the mosque) was outraged by the royal family’s inability and reliance on western support to protect the holy Islamic site.
In the wake of the attack, Saudi Arabia adopted much stricter Shariah (Islamic) law and religious conservatives and religious police became more dominant. Another trend that lasts to this day.
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to support the Afghan communist government in its conflict with anti-communist Muslim guerrillas known as the mujahideen (“holy warriors”). The resistance drew fighters from across the region.
Bin Laden becomes militant
Bin Laden joined the Afghan resistance group to fulfil his duty as a Muslim to fight the Soviet occupation. Although he participated in battles, bin Laden’s key role was to use his network to harness financial support and recruit young men from across the Middle East to join the Afghan jihad (a struggle in devotion to Islam). Skills that would later prove invaluable as part of his involvement with Al-Qaeda.
Ironically, with anti-communist US support (along with the Saudi government) and after prolonged fighting, the Afghan resistance managed to force the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1989. But, unfortunately, the peace in Afghanistan was short-lived as the country descended into a civil war in 1992, which saw the emergence of the Taliban, a fundamentalist Islamic group that eventually seized power of the country in 1996.
Bin Laden’s return and exile from Saudi Arabia
In the same year, bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia, where he was heralded as a “freedom fighter”. However, this relationship soon soured when in 1990, the Saudi government spurned bin Laden’s offer to use his Arab mujahideen army to protect the holy country’s borders (including Mecca and Medina) against Saddam Hussein (the Iraqi president) following his invasion of Kuwait. To bin Laden’s disgust, the Saudi regime opted instead to rely on the infidel (non-believer) support provided by the US troops. Amidst growing tension between himself and the Saudi government, and the frustrating presence of US forces on the sacred soil of the country, bin Laden fled to Sudan in 1992.
The birth of Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda means the “the Base” in Arabic and was co-founded by bin Laden in 1988 as a network of Muslims supporting the fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Following the Soviet withdrawal, the group set its sights on what it considered corrupt Islamic regimes and the foreign presence on Islamic lands. Due to its involvement and dominance of the Muslim world, the US became the key target that bin Laden wanted to draw into a war with the hopes of creating a true Islamic state. To this end, bin Laden and Al-Qaeda recruited and trained footsoldiers and funded terrorist attacks.
The terrorist group launched its first attack in 1992, bombing a hotel in Yemen believed to be housing US soldiers. Only a few Yemeni hotel workers and an Australian tourist ended up being killed.
Due to increasing diplomatic pressure thanks to his growing profile, bin Laden was forced to leave Sudan in 1996, finding refuge in Taliban-led Afghanistan.
Declaring war against the US
In 1996, bin Laden issued a fatwa (religious opinion) declaring war on the US for its looting of natural resources and its occupation of the Middle East, amongst others.
Two years later, Al-Qaeda pulled off its first major attack, bombing the US embassies in Nairobi (Kenya) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). Over 200 people were killed, and more than 4000 were injured. Then, in 2000, a boat loaded with explosives crashed into the USS Cole (a US military ship) in Yemen, killing 17 and injuring 38.
Emboldened by the success of these two attacks, bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda counterparts planned their first strike on US soil.
An attack that would change the course of history.
What happens next warrants a multipart story which I hope to cover in the upcoming few months as the world commemorates the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Thanks for reading. I hope you added a building block to your foundation of knowledge.
Have a fantastic weekend.