Growing Up Bin Laden - Jean P. Sasson [19]
From Jordan, Abdullah Azzam became a part of the Palestinian resistance coalition, but grew contemptuous of Arab rulers, believing that the current rulers were too comfortable maintaining the status quo. Abdullah Azzam was adamant that the Middle East map drawn by Great Britain and France after World War I should be redrawn by Arabs.
Then in 1978, simmering troubles in Afghanistan ignited into a fire. After pushing for greater influence in the region, the Soviets backed a coup in Afghanistan to install a purely communist government. A second coup toppled the communist puppet government, and the Afghan president and most members of his family were assassinated. A Russian-backed president was appointed. Soviet tanks and troops fully invaded Afghanistan in December 1979.
Almost immediately, Muslim guerrillas launched a Jihad against the Russians. The United States, Great Britain, and other Muslim nations supported the guerrillas. The Soviets were surprised by the strength of the resistance, and would soon take heavy losses.
Enticed by Abdullah Azzam’s political message, Osama was mentally ready to respond to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Soon afterwards, he left college to devote his time to working on behalf of the Afghan resistance fighters, known as the Mujahideen. Abdullah Azzam was his partner, and the two men met in Peshawar, Pakistan, on the border of Afghanistan, working closely to organize a method of delivering food, medical supplies, and weapons to the Mujahideen.
Chapter 3
Mother of Many Sons
NAJWA BIN LADEN
I soon discovered that my fourth child was indeed yet another son. Although I suffered a flash of disappointment when the doctor failed to announce the birth of a daughter, everyone around me was so overjoyed that my face flushed pink with pleasure. I reminded myself that many are the women in Saudi Arabia whose heartfelt prayers for sons go unanswered.
Boys are so favored in Saudi Arabia that a woman who gives birth only to sons is considered to be blessed by the hand of God Himself. Now that I had four sons, I witnessed many envious faces.
My husband and I named our fourth-born Omar Osama bin Laden. From the moment I looked into that baby’s soulful eyes, I admit to a certain special tenderness. Although I had loved all my children with a full heart, something about Omar tugged at my core. Perhaps that is why I nursed Omar longer than my other children.
My husband was deeply pleased. He repeated more than once that the birth of our children was in God’s hands, and that Omar was from God, another blessing in our growing family.
Soon my husband took yet another trip to Pakistan to support our Muslim brothers in Afghanistan. Some trips lasted for more than a month, giving me extra time to amuse myself with little Omar. One day I noticed that Omar’s blond hair was growing. Without thinking, I began to braid and pull Omar’s hair into various chic styles, some fashions resembling the braids I had seen knotted into the tails of some of my husband’s horses.
Omar was such an unusually beautiful baby that my urges took me further than hairstyles. I found myself designing and sewing little girl dresses, using Omar as my model for the clothing. It seemed a natural step to leave him in those sweet little clothes; after all, he was only a tiny baby who knew nothing of what he wore. Before long I was outfitting him entirely in little girl clothes. Pink was the best color for him because the shade looked so juicy up against his skin, as smooth and soft as velvet.
What fun I had with that precious baby! I was encouraged when my girlfriends declared that Omar grew more beautiful with each passing day. No one around me expressed