Bin Laden family explained

Bin Laden family
Native Name:عائلة بن لادن
Native Name Lang:ar
Region:Arabian Peninsula
Origin:Hadhramaut, Yemen
Members:Osama bin Laden(see Family members)

The bin Laden family (Arabic: عائلة بن لادن|translit=bin Lādin), also spelled bin Ladin, is a wealthy family intimately connected with the innermost circles of the Saudi royal family. It is the namesake and controlling shareholder of Saudi Binladin Group, a multinational construction firm. Following the September 11 attacks, the family became the subject of media attention and scrutiny through the activities of Osama bin Laden, the former head of al-Qaeda.

Beginnings

The family traces its origins to Awad bin Laden from the village of al-Rubat, in the Wadi Doan of the Tarim Valley, Hadramout governorate, Yemen.[1] Awad's son was Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (1908-1967). Mohammed bin Laden was a native of the Shafi'i (Sunni) Hadhramaut coast in southern Yemen, and emigrated to Saudi Arabia prior to World War I. He set up a construction company and came to Abdul Aziz ibn Saud's attention through construction projects, later being awarded contracts for major renovations in Mecca. He made his initial fortune from exclusive rights to construct all mosques and other religious buildings not only in Saudi Arabia, but as far as Ibn Saud's influence reached. Until his death, Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden had exclusive control over restorations at the Jami Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. Soon, the bin Laden corporate network extended far beyond just construction sites.

Mohammed's special intimacy with the monarchy was inherited by the younger bin Laden generation. Mohammed's sons attended Victoria College, Alexandria, Egypt. Their schoolmates included King Hussein of Jordan, Zaid Al Rifai, the Kashoggi brothers (whose father was one of the king's physicians), Kamal Adham (who ran the General Intelligence Directorate under King Faisal), present-day contractors Mohammed Al Attas, Fahd Shobokshi, Ghassan Sakr, and actor Omar Sharif.

When Mohammed bin Laden died in 1967, his son Salem bin Laden took over the family enterprises, until his own accidental death in 1988.

Family members

American and European intelligence officials estimate that all the relatives of the family may number as many as 600. In 1994, the bin Laden family disowned Osama bin Laden, and the Saudi government revoked his passport.[2] The Saudi government also stripped Osama of his citizenship for publicly speaking out against the government for permitting U.S. troops to be based in Saudi Arabia in preparation for the 1991 Gulf War.

The groupings of the bin Laden family, based on the nationalities of the wives, include the most prominent "Saudi group", a "Syrian group", a "Lebanese group," and an "Egyptian group". The Egyptian group employs 40,000 people, most likely the country's largest private foreign investor. Osama bin Laden was born the only son of Muhammed bin Laden's tenth wife, Hamida al-Attas,[3] who was of Syrian origin,[4] making Osama a member of the Syrian group.

First generation

Second generation

Third generation

Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden's sons

Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden's (1908–1967) known sons:

  1. Salem bin Laden (d. 1988) married Caroline Carey
  2. Ali bin Laden
  3. Thabet bin Laden (d. 2009)
  4. Mahrous bin Laden
  5. Hassan bin Laden
  6. Bakr bin Laden
  7. Khalid bin Laden
  8. Yeslam bin Ladin (born 1950) married Carmen bin Ladin (born 1954)
    1. Wafah Dufour (born 1978)
    2. Najia Dufour (born 1979)
    3. Noor Dufour (born 1987)
  9. Ghalib bin Laden
  10. Yahya bin Laden
  11. Omar bin Laden
  12. Abdul Aziz bin Laden
  13. Issa bin Laden
  14. Tarek bin Laden
  15. Ahmed bin Laden
  16. Ibrahim bin Laden
  17. Shafiq bin Laden
  18. Osama bin Laden (d. 2011) married Najwa Ghanem (born 1960)
  19. Khalil bin Ladin
  20. Saleh bin Ladin
  21. Haider bin Laden
  22. Saad bin Laden
  23. Abdullah bin Laden
  24. Yasser bin Laden
  25. Mohammad bin Laden (born 1967)

Osama bin Laden's children

Osama bin Laden's known children, from his respective wives, include:

Bin Laden flights

Around 13 members of the Bin Laden family, alongside their associates and bodyguards, flew out of the United States on a chartered flight with Ryan International Airlines (Ryan International Flight 441),[32] eight days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a passenger manifest released on July 21, 2004.[33] The passenger list was obtained and released by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), who acquired it from officials at Boston's Logan International Airport. None of the flights, domestic or international, took place before the reopening of national airspace on the morning of September 13 and the 9/11 Commission found "no evidence of a political intervention".[34]

Among the passengers with the bin Laden surname were Omar Awad bin Laden, who had lived with Osama's nephew Abdallah Awad bin Laden, who was involved in forming the U.S. branch of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth in Alexandria, and Shafig bin Laden, a half brother of Osama's who was reportedly attending the annual investor conference of the Carlyle Group.[33] Also on board was Akberali Moawalla, an official with the investment company run by Yeslam bin Ladin, another of Osama bin Laden's half brothers. Records show that a passenger, Kholoud Kurdi, lived in Northern Virginia with a bin Laden relative.[33]

The bin Laden flights received fresh publicity when they were discussed in Michael Moore's controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.[35]

The 9/11 Commission found that the "FBI conducted a satisfactory screening of Saudi nationals who left the United States on charter flights. The Saudi government was advised of and agreed to the FBI's requirements that passengers be identified and checked against various databases before the flights departed. The Federal Aviation Administration representative working in the FBI operations center made sure that the FBI was aware of the flights of Saudi nationals and was able to screen the passengers before they were allowed to depart."[34]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Awad bin Aboud bin Laden. geni_family_tree. en-US. 2019-11-06.
  2. http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=202969 bin Laden, Osama.
  3. News: Letter From Jedda, Young Osama, How he learned radicalism, and may have seen America. Steve Coll. 12 December 2005. The New Yorker. 5 December 2005. July 8, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140708020958/http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/051212fa_fact. dead.
  4. Web site: Salon.com News – The making of Osama bin Laden. Salon.com. 21 August 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20070307120137/http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2001/11/01/osama_profile/. March 7, 2007. dead. mdy-all.
  5. Web site: Abdullah bin Laden hasiisoososos. infoplease.com. 21 September 2008.
  6. Web site: Kenneth C. Crowe . The Dichotomy of Saudi Arabia . 26 May 1976 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100318040813/http://www.aliciapatterson.org/APF001975/Crowe/Crowe09/Crowe09.html. March 18, 2010. mdy-all.
  7. Web site: Boston Herald, 9/2/01. https://web.archive.org/web/20131202191329/http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/bin.htm. dead. December 2, 2013.
  8. News: Osama claims responsibility for 9/11 . The Times of India . May 24, 2006.
  9. Web site: Interview with Osama bin Laden's Brother Yaslam bin Laden.
  10. Book: The Book on Bush: How George W. (Mis)leads America. Penguin. Eric Alterman, Mark J. Green. 2004. 9781101200810. 22 February 2014. The extremely influential Carlyle Group has arranged similar gatherings during the previous fourteen years, beneath the radar of most of the mass media, between former politicians like Bush, James Baker, John Major, former World Bank treasurer Afsaneh Masheyekhi, and interested parties looking for some extremely expensive, high-powered lobbying services. On September 11, 2001, the Group happened to be hosting a conference at a Washington hotel. Among the guest of honor: investor Shafig bin Laden, another brother to Osama..
  11. News: Big Deals. David Rubenstein and His Partners Have Made Billions With the Carlyle Group, the World's Hottest Private Equity Firm. How Have They Made All That Money? Why Are They in Washington?. https://web.archive.org/web/20080910093351/http://www.carlyle.com/Media%20Room/Fact%20Sheet%20Files/item9959.pdf. dead. 2008-09-10. . James K. Glassman. June 2006. February 22, 2014.
  12. News: The Carlyle Group: C for Capitalism. The Economist. 26 June 2003 . https://web.archive.org/web/20051212013149/http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=1875084. 12 December 2005. 22 February 2014. live . ON the day Osama bin Laden's men attacked America, Shafiq bin Laden, described as an estranged brother of the terrorist, was at an investment conference in Washington, DC, along with two people who are close to President George Bush: his father, the first President Bush, and James Baker, the former secretary of state who masterminded the legal campaign that secured Dubya's move to the White House..
  13. News: Dark heart of the American dream. The Guardian. Ed Vulliamy . 16 May 2002 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080917122104/http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2002/jun/16/features.magazine57 . 17 September 2008 . 22 February 2014 . live . On 11 September, while Al-Qaeda's planes slammed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the Carlyle Group hosted a conference at a Washington hotel. Among the guests of honour was a valued investor: Shafig bin Laden, brother to Osama..
  14. News: Is Kissing a "State Sponsor of Terrorism" a "Terrorist Act"? Political Satire. NSNBC. Michel Chossudovsky. 13 April 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130502010243/http://nsnbc.me/2013/04/30/is-kissing-a-state-sponsor-of-terrorism-a-terrorist-act-political-satire. May 2, 2013. 22 February 2014. dead. There is nothing wrong, therefore, in socialising and doing business with family members of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden, including the late Salem bin Laden and Shafiq bin Laden of the Carlyle Group..
  15. News: November 5, 2001 . The House of bin Laden . https://web.archive.org/web/20070222215131/http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/011112fa_FACT3?011112fa_FACT3 . dead . February 22, 2007 . The New Yorker. June 20, 2006.
  16. Book: Wright, Lawrence. The looming tower : Al-Qaeda and the road to 9/11. 2011. 978-0-525-56436-2. First Vintage books edition, [revised]. New York. 761224415.
  17. Web site: 2018-01-29. Fate of bin Laden's children gleaned from the Abbottabad files. 2021-06-10. Al Arabiya English. en.
  18. News: Bin Laden's son says Iran should free his siblings . USA Today . Associated Press . March 15, 2010 . June 5, 2012.
  19. News: Osama bin Laden's son may be in Pakistan too . Los Angeles Times . Greg Miller . January 17, 2009 . June 4, 2012.
  20. News: Iran double-crossed Osama bin Laden . The Australian . Christina Lamb . May 7, 2012 . June 5, 2012.
  21. Web site: Terror-Sprössling: Al-Qaida bestätigt Tod von Bin Ladens Sohn Saad - Nachrichten Politik - Ausland - DIE WELT . 2014-02-05 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20020114191003/http://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article109486119/Al-Qaida-bestaetigt-Tod-von-Bin-Ladens-Sohn-Saad.html . January 14, 2002 . mdy .
  22. Web site: Al-Qaida Confirms: Sa´ad Bin Laden Is Dead. September 28, 2012.
  23. Web site: 2021-03-03. Un des fils d'Oussama Ben Laden a trouvé refuge dans la peinture. 2021-03-08. Le Point. fr.
  24. Web site: Osama bin Laden's Son is a Painter. America is His Muse.. 2021-03-08. www.vice.com. March 2021 . en.
  25. Web site: Rewards for Justice - Reward Offer for Information on al-Qa'ida Key Leader Hamza bin Laden . U.S. Department of State . 1 March 2019.
  26. News: Hamza bin Laden, Son and Heir to Qaeda Founder, Is Dead . Julian E. . Barnes . Adam . Goldman . Adam Goldman . Eric . Schmitt . Eric Schmitt (journalist) . July 31, 2019 . . July 31, 2019 . 8 .
  27. Web site: Bin Laden's son killed in U.S. operation, Trump says. BNO News. 2019-09-14.
  28. News: Osama bin Laden killed in U.S. raid, buried at sea. Washington Post.
  29. Web site: The pulse-pounding excitement is set to continue at the third Motor Sport Club Raceday. . March 16, 2006 . thermo.ae . September 21, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081210195157/http://www.thermo.ae/thermo/news/thermo160306.htm . December 10, 2008 . mdy .
  30. News: Bin Laden son 'probably killed'. July 23, 2009. news.bbc.co.uk.
  31. Web site: Archived copy . February 20, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170221110426/https://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/dr-ayman-al-e1ba93awc481hirc4ab-e2809cdays-with-the-imc481m-3e280b3-ar.pdf . February 21, 2017 . dead .
  32. Web site: Response to October 2003 Vanity Fair Article (Re: Binladen Family Departures After 09/11/2001). PENTTBOM Team. Federal Bureau of Investigation. April 13, 2007. 34. January 17, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20140225071325/http://www.judicialwatch.org/archive/2007/Saudi%20Docs%202.pdf. February 25, 2014. dead.
  33. News: Plane Carried 13 Bin Ladens: Manifest of Sept. 19, 2001, Flight From U.S. Is Released. Dana Milbank. The Washington Post. July 22, 2004. A07.
  34. Web site: 9/11 Commission Report. 9/11 Commission.
  35. Web site: "Fahrenheit 9/11" Controversies, Wikipedia.