Osama Bin Laden

Paper Summary:

This paper describes Osama Bin Laden's life and its impact on his actions and outlook. The writer highlights Bin Laden's religious fervor and the development of his commitment to fundamentalist Islamic theology. In particular, the paper examines the relationship between Al Qaeda and the Taliban, which was based mainly on this shared fundamentalist religious philosophy. The paper concludes with a discussion of the 9/11 attacks.

From the Paper:

"As Dennis Piszkiewicz writes in his 2003 book, Terrorism's War with America: A History, Bin Laden's background "emerges from a fog of vague and often contradictory tales," and warns that the details should be taken with a small helping of skepticism (Piszkiewicz 2003). Even the exact date of his birth is unclear, however he is believed to have been born sometime in the mid-1950's. One of the youngest of fifty siblings, he was born into one of the wealthiest families in Saudi Arabia (LeVine 1999). His father, Mohammed Bin Laden moved from Yemen in to Saudi Arabia and eventually built up that country's largest construction company. Beginning in the 1950's, the Saudis began to build hospitals, schools, and roads, and on the "back of royal patronage," the Bin Ladens became incredibly rich in the process (LeVine 1999). Osama's mother was one of the last and least regarded of his father's many wives, thus with little status in the family, when Mohammed died in 1967, Osama turned to religion. Although there have been rumors that he was a playboy in London and Beirut during the 1970's, this is almost certainly false since he speaks poor English and no French, and appears to have been pious even as a child (LeVine 1999). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Aboul-Enein, Youssef H. (2004 September 01). Osama bin-Laden interview, June 1999: entering the mind of an adversary.(Review Essay)(Interview)(Excerpt). Military Review. Retrieved July 04 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.
• Knapp, Michael G. (2003). The Concept and Practice f Jihad in Islam. Parameters. Volume 33. Issue 1. Retrieved June 04 2006 from Questa Online Library.
• Lesch, Ann M. (2002 June 01). Osama Bin Laden: embedded in the Middle East crises. Middle East Policy. Retrieved July 04 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.
• LeVine, Steve. (1999 March 01). Making A Symbol Of Terror. Newsweek. July 04 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.
• Nasrawi, Salah. (2006 July 01). Bin Laden Endorses al-Zarqawi's Successor. Associated Press: AP Online. Retrieved July 04 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.

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