Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (  English: Osama, who is the son of Muhammad, who is the son of Awad, who is the son of Ladin; 10 March 1957 2 May 2011) was a Saudi Arabian US designated terrorist, who was the founder of al-Qaeda, the Sunni militant Islamist jihadist terrorist organization that claimed responsibility for the September 11 attacks on the United States. It is also responsible of many other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets.Aleem Maqbool. "Osama Bin Laden, al Qaeda leader, dead – Barack Obama". May 1, 2011. BBC News Online. Retrieved December 31, 2013. He was a Saudi Arabian, a member of the wealthy bin Laden family, and an ethnic Yemeni Kindite.

 Names 
Osama bin Laden's name can be transliterated in many ways. Usāmah bin Muhammad bin 'Awad bin Lādin (Arabic: أُسَامَةُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ بْنُ عَوَضٍ بْنُ لَادِنَ), shortened to Usama bin Laden (أُسَامَةُ بْنُ لَادِنَ).

The form used here, Osama bin Laden, is used by most English-language mass media. This includes CNN and the BBC. The FBI and Fox News use Usama bin Laden. Often the name is abbreviated to UBL.

The bin Laden family (or "Binladin," as they like to be called) usually use the name as a surname in the Western style. The family company is known as the Binladin Brothers for Contracting and Industry. It is one of the largest corporations in Saudi Arabia.

 Biography 
Early life and Career
He was born in the bin Laden family to billionaire Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden in Saudi Arabia. He studied there in college until 1979, when he joined the mujahideen forces in Afghanistan against the Soviets in Afghanistan. He helped to fund the mujahideen by funneling arms, money and fighters from the Arab world into Afghanistan, also gaining popularity from many Arabs.Robert Fisk (2005). The Great War For Civilisation, p. 4. In 1988, he formed al-Qaeda. 

He was banished from Saudi Arabia in 1992, and shifted his base to Sudan, until US pressure forced him to leave Sudan in 1996. After establishing a new base in Afghanistan, he declared a war against the United States, initiating a series of bombings and related attacks.Robert Fisk (2005). The Great War For Civilisation, p. 22. Bin Laden was on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) lists of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and Most Wanted Terrorists for his involvement in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings.

From 2001 to 2011, bin Laden was a major target of the War on Terror, as the FBI placed a $25 million reward on him in their search for him. On May 2, 2011, bin Laden was shot and killed inside a private residential compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, by members of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group and Central Intelligence Agency operatives in a covert operation ordered by U.S. President Barack Obama.

Marriages
Bin Laden was first married at the age of 17 to a Syrian cousin. Her name was Najwa Ghanem. She was probably two years younger than he. They had 11 children. Najwa left bin Laden just before 9/11.

He was married to Khadijah (1983–1995, divorced). His next wife was Khairiah (1985–2011, his death). His fourth wife was Siham (1987–2011, his death). He was married to unknown woman in 1996 but the marriage was annulled within a few days. His last wife was Amal (2000–2011, his death). There were a total of nine children from these later marriages, making 20 in all.

Beliefs and ideology
Bin Laden probably believed that the restoration of Sharia law would set things right in the Muslim world, and that all other ideologies—"pan-Arabism, socialism, communism, democracy"—must be opposed.Messages, 2005, p. 218. "Resist the New Rome, audiotape delivered to al-Jazeera and broadcast by it on 2004-01-04. These beliefs, along with violent expansive jihad, have sometimes been called Qutbism.

He was influenced by the teachings of Ibn Taymiyyah for his creed and beliefs. He also quoted from Ibn Taymiyyah in some of his fatwas against various countries.

He believed Afghanistan under the rule of Mullah Omar's Taliban was "the only Islamic country" in the Muslim world.Messages, (2005), p. 143. from an interview published in Al-Quds Al-Arabi in London November 12, 2001 (originally published in Pakistani daily, Ausaf, Nov. 7). Bin Laden had consistently talked about his belief in the need for violent jihad to make right what he believed are injustices against Muslims perpetrated by the United States and sometimes by other non-Muslim states,Messages to the World, (2005), pp. xix, xx, editor Bruce Lawrence. the need to eliminate the state of Israel, and the necessity of forcing the US to withdraw from the Middle East. He had also called on Americans to "reject the immoral acts of fornication and homosexuality, intoxicants (e.g. alcohol), gambling, and usury" in an October 2002 letter.October 6, 2002. Appeared in Al-Qala'a website and then the London Observer 2002-11-24.

One of Bin Laden's most infamous beliefs was that civilians, including women and children, are legitimate targets of jihad.Messages, 2005. p70. Al Jazeera interview, December 1998, after the Kenya and Tanzania embassy attacks.Messages, (2005), p. 119, October 21, 2001 interview with Taysir Alluni of Al Jazeera. Bin Laden was antisemitic, and had delivered warnings against alleged Jewish conspiracies: "These Jews are masters of usury and leaders in treachery. They will leave you nothing, either in this world or the next".Messages, (2005), p. 190. from 53-minute audiotape that was circulated on various websites, dated February 14, 2003. "Among a Band of Knights." Shia Muslims have been listed along with "Heretics,... America and Israel," as the four principal "enemies of Islam" at the ideology classes of bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization.Wright, Lawrence 2006. The looming tower : al-Qaeda and the road to 9/11. New York: Knopf.p303

In keeping with Wahhabi beliefs (the Saudi type of Islam), bin Laden opposed music on religious grounds,p167 and his attitude towards technology was mixed. He was interested in "earth-moving machinery and genetic engineering of plants" on the one hand, but rejected "chilled water" on the other.p172

His viewpoints and methods of achieving them led to him been designated as a terrorist by scholars,John Randal 2005. Osama: the making of a terrorist Tauris.A Capitol Idea Donald E. Abelson p. 208. journalists from the New York Times, the British Broadcasting Corporation, Qatari news station Al Jazeera,"Osama bin Laden's operation" has "perpetrated the worst act of terrorism ever witnessed on US soil". analysts such as Peter Bergen,Peter L. Bergen 2006. The Osama bin Laden I know: an oral history of al Quaeda's leader. New York: Free Press, 2006 Michael Scheuer,Michael Scheuer 2006. Through our enemies' Eyes: Osama bin Laden, radical Islam, and the future of America Potomac Books. Marc Sageman,Marc Sageman 2008. Leaderless Jihad: terror networks in the twenty-first century University of Pennsylvania Press. and Bruce HoffmanPeter Brookes 2005. A devil's triangle: terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and rogue states Rowman & Littlefield. and he was indicted on terrorism charges by law enforcement agencies in Madrid, New York City, and Tripoli. He stayed in hiding until he was killed by the United States in Pakistan, in May 2011.

Downfall and death


U.S. President Barack Obama launched a mission, "Operation Neptune Spear", where United States Special Operation forces raided bin Laden's hideout compound. On the night of 2 May 2011 (Pakistani time; 1 May 2011 U.S. time), bin Laden was killed by bullets to the chest and head. His body was buried at sea later that day so there would be no grave.

 References 

Category:1957 births
Category:2011 deaths
Category:al-Qaeda people
Category:Deaths by firearm
Category:Saudi Arabian people
Category:September 11 attacks