1. The Rise and Terror of Osama bin Laden
2. The Upbringing
3. Born Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden on March 10, 1957 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
4. His father was a construction billionaire named Mohammed Awad bin Laden and his mother was Mohammed’s tenth wife, Syrian-born Alia Ghanem
5. Osama was the seventh out of 50 children born to Mohammed bin Laden, but was the only child from his father’s marriage to Alia Ghanem
6. His father started his professional life in the 1970’s in relative poverty, working as a porter in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. By the 1960’s, he had managed to land several huge government contracts to build extensions on the Mecca, Medina, And Al-Aqsa mosques.
7. Due to his successful work, he was developing into a highly influential figure in Jeddah
8. At home however, Osama’s father was very strict, insisting that all of his children live under one roof and follow a rigid religious & moral code. He treated his sons as adults as well
9. After the split, Osama’s mother took him to live with her new husband Mohammed al-Atras, which his mother had four kids with. He spent most of his childhood living with his step-siblings.
10. Bin Laden also had the privilege of attending Al Thagher Model School (the most prestigious high school in Jeddah). At 14 years of age, he was recognized as an outstanding student.
11. Due to this, he was personally invited to join a small Islamic study group, which taught him the principals of jihad and the importance of instituting a pure Islamic world
12. By the second year of teaching, Osama had openly adopted the attitude of a teen Islamic activist, and preached the importance of instituting a pure Islamic law at Al Thagher
13. Osama grew up quickly and at age 18 married his first cousin, Najwa Ghanem, who was 14 at the time. He then graduated from Al Thagher in 1976, the same year his first child was born
14. After graduating, he headed to King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. It is unsure what degree he received there, some believe it was in public administration others in civil service.
15. From Hero to Banishment
16. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, Osama joined the Afghan resistance because he believed it was his duty as a Muslim to fight the occupation
17. He was relocated to Peshawar, Afghanistan and with aid from the U.S. under the CIA program Operation Cyclone; he began training a mujahideen, a group of Islamic jihadists.
18. After the Soviets withdrew from the country in 1989, Osama returned to Saudi Arabia as a hero. He was however quickly disappointed with what he believed was a corrupt Saudi government.
19. Bin Laden’s main frustration was with the U.S occupation of Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War. He publicly spoke against them and believed their presence profaned sacred soil.
20. After numerous attempts to silence Osama, the Saudis banished the former hero. He lived in exile in Sudan beginning in 1992
21. Launch of Al Qaeda
22. By 1993, Osama had developed a secret network known as al Qaeda (Arabic for “the Base”). It consisted of militant Muslims he had met while serving in Afghanistan
23. Their goal was to spread the jihadist cause around the world, which is making once wrongdoing bright under the accordance of pure Islamic law. They began planning global attacks worldwide.
24. By 1994, after continued advocacy of extremist jihad, the Saudi government forced bin Laden to give up his Saudi citizenship and passport. His family also cut him off.
25. Unbroken, Osama began to execute his violent plans, with the goal of drawing the U.S. into war.
26. In 1996 al Qaeda detonated truck bombs against his occupied forces in Saudi Arabia. The next year, he claimed responsibility for killing tourists in Egypt.
27. In 1998, they bombed the U.S embassies in Mairiobi,