The Founder. Add three words to that and it’s just something that you might hear pretty often. However, I would say the two words on their own are pretty scary. The Founder of what? Well actually, it’s Al Qaeda and yes, you know who I’m talking about. Today, I will tell you about the rise of Osama bin Laden and how he became the person he once was, the eptiome of terrorism.
We first need to know a little about Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden is the 17th son of Mohammad and Alia bin Laden who was born in January of 1958. He was born in a remote valley but moved out eventually because of the poor and dry conditions. After getting education, Osama bin Laden started his own building company which quickly grew in reputation because the King of Saudi Arabia recognized his buildings. He was granted the ability to build royal buildings and other things by the King personally. Osama bin Laden moved into a relatively run-down building despite having a lot of money because he constantly reminds himself in his head the Muslim men need to stay modest and not live in luxury. Anyways, Osama bin Laden married his first wife at the age of 17 to Najwa Ghanem (she was 14). Around this time, he began to pick up on the writings of Sayyid Qutb (he’s back again). He was heavily influenced by Qutb. Eventually a debate occurred that spoke on how Muslims who didn’t press themselves to be influenced under Islamic laws weren’t true Muslims. Bin Laden decided to side with the non-radicals here. That would change later. Later, he inherited his father’s company.
Ok let’s stop right there. Based on what I just said, you’re probably thinking, so why was Osama bin Laden “the epitome of terrorism?” Well if you were to ask any historian who was even relatively educated on this topic, they would probably have things to talk about for days. For now, let’s leave that to another day.