Growing up Bin Laden – Najwa bin Laden & Omar bin Laden By Jean Sasson

The book is about a name and face that captured attention of the world in wake of 9/11 Osama bin laden. The west called him the most wanted terrorist. His life, his family and his thoughts were all shrouded in mystery and a closely guarded secret. Whatever we knew about him was the version of western media and rare clips circulated by Al Qaeda. One was always curious of the the thought processes of the man who masterminded an event that changed the world forever.

This book was very intriguing and caught people’s attention the moment it hit the shelves. The title ‘Growing up bin Laden’ with a picture of a small boy in a carefree spirit was very fascinating and made it an irresistible read. Whatever we knew about Osama bin Laden was from outside and amounted to what was told by journalists, which by its very nature could not provide the whole scenario. This book tells the story of the man from inside out. His first wife Najwa and his fourth and most favored son Omar tell their experiences of living with a man who changed from an educated, polite and compassionate young man to a fanatic and a most wanted terrorist. When Najwa talks about the man she loved and revered, and Omar says ‘My father did not always hate nor was hated by others,’ it makes one even more curious to know about this infamous man. This book is a personal narration of experiences of a wife and a son, who suffered and saw the family leave all the comforts for an austere life full of violence due to the deranged mission of this man to save Islam from the west. This man walked along the path of Jihaad and wanted his whole family to follow. Though the book is set against political backdrop it is about an emotional journey of a son who revered his father and wanted his acceptance of his disagreement with the ideology of the same father, and finally convincing his mother to leave Afghanistan forever.

As rightly said by Jean Sasson, ‘discord often erupts from lack of knowledge and education.’ The minds of young should be nourished with learning that creates understanding between religious and ethnic groups and the fanaticism of one should not be held against all associated with him. It’s a tragic tale where family is torn apart and how wrong ideologies can cause personal suffering and the suffering of the world at large.

Our discussion was very open and interesting with everyone sharing their perspectives on culture and roles that family, society and leaders can play to bring about peace and harmony.

The book was rated 7.5/10.

Review with many thanks to Monica Kochar