Growing Up Bin Laden - Jean P. Sasson [182]
1974: Osama assumes part-time duties in his father’s huge multinational construction business, the Saudi bin Laden Group.
1976: Osama enrolls as a student at the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. He studies economics and management. (Najwa says that her husband never studied engineering, although that is a popular myth.) During these years the Muslim Middle East undergoes an Islamic awakening, called the Salwa, which came about after the 1967 war with Israel, when Egypt, Jordan, and Syria suffered a demoralizing military defeat. Osama came of age during this political change.
1976: Osama and Najwa welcome their firstborn, a son they name Abdullah. From that time Osama will be known as Abu Abdullah, meaning father of Abdullah, to his closest friends and associates. Najwa becomes known to family and friends as Um Abdullah, or mother of Abdullah.
1978: Osama and Najwa welcome their second-born, a son they name Abdul Rahman.
1979: According to the Muslim calendar, 1979 is the first year of a new century.
1979: Osama, Najwa, and their two sons travel through England and to the United States for Osama to meet with Abdullah Azzam, the man many call Osama’s first mentor. Abdullah Azzam was on a speaking tour in America to recruit for Jihad. Osama, who had recently awakened to the passion of Jihad, met with Abdullah Azzam to discuss and make plans for his role in the movement. While on this trip, Abdul Rahman becomes ill, and Osama and Najwa consult a medical specialist for their second-born son.
1979: Osama and Najwa welcome their third-born, a son they name Sa’ad.
1979: Muslims the world over received a terrible blow on November 20, 1979. The annual Haj pilgrimage had ended and Haj worshippers were preparing to leave Mecca. Since there are always foreign Muslim worshippers in Mecca, the Grand Mosque was filled with people. At the moment the Imam concluded the first prayer of the day, gunshots were heard and worshippers were attacked.
Three hundred rebels led by Juhayman al-Uteybi, a formal corporal in the National Guard of Saudi Arabia, quickly overtook the men of religion and the worshippers, declaring them all hostages. The rebels seized total control of the Grand Mosque, broadcasting their goals over the loudspeakers throughout Mecca.
The Saudi Army and National Guard poured into Mecca, ordering an evacuation of the city and surrounding the Grand Mosque. Since the Koran forbids violence within the Grand Mosque, the Saudi royal family first sought approval from the religious authorities to use deadly force against the insurgents, which was given.
The ensuing battle lasted for two weeks. Control of the Grand Mosque was finally regained on December 4, 1979. Official reports say that 255 fanatics, troops and pilgrims were killed, while 560 were injured. The rebels who survived were imprisoned or beheaded, with reports of 63 beheadings.
1979: On December 26, Russia invades Afghanistan.
1980: Osama responds to what he calls the invasion by “Godless communists” by organizing charities to benefit the Afghan resistance fighters, known as the Mujahideen. His friend and mentor, Abdullah Azzam, founds an organization for this purpose. Osama, backed by his family wealth and the Saudi government’s encouragement, becomes a chief financier.
1980: Osama begins the first of his travels to Pakistan to deliver supplies and offer assistance to his Afghan Muslim brothers. From this time on, Osama is heavily involved in the Afghan struggle against Russia, coordinating his trips to fit around his schooling and family responsibilities.
1980 or 1981: Due to his Jihadi responsibilities Osama drops out of university, although he had only one more term before graduation.
1981: Osama continues to raise funds and to deliver supplies to Pakistan for the Afghan resistance against the Soviets.