Wiregrass native pens book with Osama's son, wife

It is one thing for a son to learn his father isn’t the great and perfect person he placed on a pedestal as a child -- the one he desired to emulate in every way possible.

It is yet another thing to learn that man is responsible for the most destructive terror attack in history.

That is the background for the book “Growing Up Bin Laden”, co-authored by Barbour County native Jean Sasson with Osama Bin Laden’s fourth son, Omar, and first wife, Najwa.

The book details life as a Bin Laden family member from the time Osama Bin Laden was hailed as a hero for resisting the Russian occupation in Afghanistan, to his frustration and anger over Saudi Arabia’s courtship with the United States, to his emergence as a terrorist leader and mastermind as he settled in the mountains of Tora Bora.

“Omar was in this perfect vantage point (as an early teen), and at that time old enough to have a perspective as to what was going on,” Sasson said recently in an interview with the Dothan Eagle. “One of the most interesting parts of the book was to be with Omar during that time.”

Indoctrination into the Bin Laden way of life was strict and harsh, and demanded a loyalty that could not be questioned. But despite the daily lessons, Omar gradually began to reject his father’s philosophy, turning away from his father’s plans to give him leadership responsibilities in the terrorist organization.

Omar fled from his father before the 9/11 attacks. Sasson declined to identify his exact location for security reasons.

In e-mailed questions from the Dothan Eagle, passed on to Omar through Sasson, Omar said he does not know exactly why his father planned and executed the 9/11 attacks.

“Only God knows exactly why such things happen, but I believe that there are misunderstandings and problems between different groups of people whenever people do not sit down and talk and listen to each other,” Omar said. “I am a Muslim and I know that many Muslims believe that the west is unfair when it comes to important issues that affect Muslim lives. I know that many Muslims feel that soldiers from other countries should not be occupying Muslims lands.

“For this reason I hope that instead of further violence, that leaders from countries of the world can sit down and discuss the problems and make changes in the way that problems are handled,” he added. “I am a person who calls for peaceful solutions to problems. Violence only harms us all, no matter where the violence comes from, the east or the west.”

Sasson said she was attracted to Omar’s empathy for others.

“That’s what convinced me to do the book,” Sasson said. “He cared very much about the people around him and when you are like that, it is very difficult for you to embrace violence against everyone.”

Sasson said it is still very difficult for Omar to say anything negative about his father.

“It is so unusual for any Saudi male to speak against his father. The furthest he will go is to say ‘I am against my father’s actions’,” Sasson said.

Sasson, a New York Times bestselling author, lived in the Middle East for 12 years and has written extensively about the culture there.

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WHAT: Growing up Bin Laden
AUTHOR: Wiregrass native Jean Sasson
WHERE: Local bookstores or Amazon.com
FOR MORE INFO: www.JeanSasson.com