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My son, Osama: the al-Qaida leader’s mother speaks for the first time

7aged

7aged

Member
Oct 28, 2017
922
The Guardian has published an interview with Osama Bin Ladin's mother.
Some careful government messaging in there, although the Mohammed bin Nayef comment slipped past.

My son, Osama: the al-Qaida leader's mother speaks for the first time
On the corner couch of a spacious room, a woman wearing a brightly patterned robe sits expectantly. The red hijab that covers her hair is reflected in a glass-fronted cabinet; inside, a framed photograph of her firstborn son takes pride of place between family heirlooms and valuables. A smiling, bearded figure wearing a military jacket, he features in photographs around the room: propped against the wall at her feet, resting on a mantlepiece. A supper of Saudi meze and a lemon cheesecake has been spread out on a large wooden dining table.
continues..
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Thisman

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,841
Guess which one is Osama bin Laden in this family photo
4024.jpg


Her mother is right, he fell straight into a cult and rest is history
 
AlexFlame116

AlexFlame116

Prophet of Truth - One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 17, 2017
23,182
Utah
Thisman said:
Guess which one is Osama bin Laden in this family photo
4024.jpg


Her mother is right, he fell straight into a cult and rest is history
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He was a wicked person and committed terrible crimes.

But looking at this picture fills me with a profound sense of sadness knowing that someone's life could have been much different but fell into the worst crowd. The rest is history.
 

Deleted member 19003

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,809
His son says he wants to avenge his father and is now following in his footsteps and hiding out in Afghanistan. Sigh.
 

Deleted member 23212

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
11,225
It is an interesting perspective of the transformation of Osama Bin Laden from his childhood to radicalization. However, I think more focus also should have been put in the article on the Grand Mosque siege, and just what that did to Saudi society. It mentions the Iranian Revolution, but it does not really dive into that incident where Jihadists tried to take control over the mosque, and while they were not able to take it over completely, it was a sign of radicalization that was already ongoing in the country. The Saudi government also responded by trying to Islamicize the country more, which I also assume had profound effects on Bin Laden.
 
bionic77

bionic77

Member
Oct 25, 2017
30,894
ReginOfFire said:
Why are we giving these shitheads any attention?
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He is probably the most important figure of this century.

He is definitely not a good person but IMO he changed the world (for the worse) and the changes are still being felt.

I don't think Trump is possible without OBL.

Not sure where this takes us but I doubt it will be good for the US in the end.
 
Tagyhag

Tagyhag

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,509
That's one thing that scares me as a future parent. You can raise a child as good as you can, but if they fall into the wrong crowd there's zero that you can do unless they wake up for themselves.

HipHop said:
????

The whole fucking family tree can rot for all i care,
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3 Generations of Punishment up in here!
 
Squarehard

Squarehard

Member
Oct 27, 2017
25,903
ReginOfFire said:
Ill leave the thread so not to further derail I can see not everyone here feels the same way I do about this family
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Or you can just provide further, and explicit detail as to what you are referring to, rather than just "Articles (you) have read over the years".

I think most people would be interested in a discussion if you support your stance.
 
WascallyWabbit

WascallyWabbit

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,431
Fascinating story, pretty tragic stuff. Some people can seemingly have it all yet go down such a dark road.

As more info trickles out about his life and family, hopefully we can learn it and prevent another OBL from existing. I'm not necessarily hopeful for it, but it's a possibility and thus I'm glad more of his family are coming forward with their stories about his life
 
Doc Kelso

Doc Kelso

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,157
NYC
Without studying the "how" is why we often end up in a situation where blanket racism blooms.

But anti-intellectualism is the name of the game, I guess.
 
Avitus

Avitus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,919
ReginOfFire said:
Forgive me for not having 1 ounce of sympathy for that family
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Nah.

When Ghanem leaves to rest in a nearby room, Osama's half-brothers continue the conversation. It's important, they say, to remember that a mother is rarely an objective witness. "It has been 17 years now [since 9/11] and she remains in denial about Osama," Ahmad says. "She loved him so much and refuses to blame him. Instead, she blames those around him. She only knows the good boy side, the side we all saw. She never got to know the jihadist side.
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They're clearly aware of the terrible things he did and sound remorseful.
 
C.Mongler

C.Mongler

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
3,881
Washington, DC
ReginOfFire said:
Ill leave the thread so not to further derail I can see not everyone here feels the same way I do about this family
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"I've read a lot of articles that say otherwise"
"Cool could we see them?"
"I'm leaving now, goodbye!"

Wow, what a scholarly and informed discussion, I've really learned a lot today to further mold and evolve my viewpoint.
 
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Deleted member 19218

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,323
I think that the older you get, the less anger you feel but it just gets replaced with pity instead. Not pity for Osama, rather pity that such situations exist.
 
Grym

Grym

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,974
Interesting article first I've heard of his son tbh...sounds like he is being molded in his father's image by al-Zawahiri

I ask the family about Bin Laden's youngest son, 29-year-old Hamza, who is thought to be in Afghanistan. Last year, he was officially designated a "global terrorist" by the US and appears to have taken up the mantle of his father, under the auspices of al-Qaida's new leader, and Osama's former deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

His uncles shake their heads. "We thought everyone was over this," Hassan says. "Then the next thing I knew, Hamza was saying, 'I am going to avenge my father.' I don't want to go through that again. If Hamza was in front of me now, I would tell him, 'God guide you. Think twice about what you are doing. Don't retake the steps of your father. You are entering horrible parts of your soul.'"

Hamza bin Laden's continued rise may well cloud the family's attempts to shake off their past. It may also hinder the crown prince's efforts to shape a new era in which Bin Laden is cast as a generational aberration, and in which the hardline doctrines once sanctioned by the kingdom no longer offer legitimacy to extremism.
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shnurgleton

shnurgleton

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,864
Boston
I had lots of weird and uncomfortable feelings when he was killed and everybody was celebrating. Dudes were out yelling "USA USA" and waving flags on my college campus and I felt really repulsed

This is probably when I stopped being a Republican
 
Buzzman

Buzzman

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,549
WascallyWabbit said:
Fascinating story, pretty tragic stuff. Some people can seemingly have it all yet go down such a dark road.

As more info trickles out about his life and family, hopefully we can learn it and prevent another OBL from existing. I'm not necessarily hopeful for it, but it's a possibility and thus I'm glad more of his family are coming forward with their stories about his life
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Well you should probably stop killing people in other countries, that would cut down on this sort of thing a lot.
 

Deleted member 2085

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
5,330
ReginOfFire said:
Ill leave the thread so not to further derail I can see not everyone here feels the same way I do about this family
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I don't really give a shit about your stance (which you refuse to back up), I'm just really confused about why you're against having another article with a new perspective on one of the most controversial figures of the last century? It's news, it's something worth exploring, it's about someone that did something that we've been affected by since 9/11. We're way past the stage of deciding where our attention should be on this man.
 
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