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The Man Who Declared War on America
by Yossef Bodansky
The oil boom of the 1970s changed Muhammad bin Laden's fortunes. The development
boom in the Hijaz brought him in direct contact with the Saudi elite, and he
soon developed a special relationship with the upper-most echelons of the House
of al-Saud as both a superior builder and the provider of discreet services,
such as the laundering of payments to "causes." His contacts at the
top enabled Muhammad bin Laden to expand his business into one of the biggest
construction companies in the entire Middle East -- the Bin Laden Corporation.
The special status of the bin Laden company was established when the House of
al-Saud contracted with it to refurbish and rebuild the two holy mosques in
Mecca and Medina. During the 1970s, the bin Laden company was involved in the
construction of roads, buildings, mosques, airports, and the entire
infrastructure of many of the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf.
Osama was destined to follow in his father's footsteps. He went to high school
in Jedda and then studied management and economics at King Abdul Aziz University
in Jedda, one of Saudi Arabia's best schools. His father promised him he would
be put in charge of his own company, which would enjoy the bin Ladens' direct
access to the Court to gain extremely profitable contracts.
Osama bin Laden started the 1970s as did many other sons of the affluent and
well-connected -- breaking the strict Muslim lifestyle in Saudi Arabia with
sojourns in cosmopolitan Beirut. While in high school and college Osama visited
Beirut often, frequenting flashy nightclubs, casinos, and bars. He was a drinker
and womanizer, which often got him into bar brawls.
Ultimately, however, Osama bin Laden was not an ordinary Saudi youth having a
good time in Beirut. In 1973 Muhammad bin Laden was deeply affected spiritually
when he rebuilt and refurbished the two holy mosques, and these changes
gradually affected Osama. Even while he was still taking brief trips to Beirut,
he began showing interest in Islam. He started reading Islamic literature and
soon began his interaction with local Islamists. In 1975 the outbreak of the
Lebanese civil war prevented further visits to Beirut. The Saudi Islamists
claimed that the agony of the Lebanese was a punishment from God for their sins
and destructive influence on young Muslims. Osama bin Laden was strongly
influenced by these arguments.
The drastic personal change in Osama bin Laden's life in the mid-1970s reflects
the turmoil of the Arab Middle East, specifically Saudi Arabia, during the
1970s.
What began as a period of Arab self-respect and great expectations -- derived
from the self-perceived restoration of "Arab honor" in the 1973 Yom
Kippur War (the coordinated Egyptian-Syrian surprise attack against Israel that
ended with an inconclusive Israeli military victory) and then the great
affluence and influence resulting from the oil boom that followed the embargo of
1973-1974 (which the oil-producing states of the Arabian Peninsula declared in
order to force the West into adopting anti-Israeli policies) -- quickly turned
into an era of acute crisis and trauma due to the Arab world's inability to cope
with the consequences of its actions. The sudden increase in wealth of the
ruling elite and the upper and educated strata and exposure to the West led to
confusion and a largely unresolved identity crisis resulting in radicalism and
eruptions of violence. Improved media access and availability throughout the
region brought home crises in other parts of the world. Because of its
conservative Islamic character and sudden wealth and influence, Saudi Arabia was
uniquely influenced by these dynamics.
In Jedda, Osama bin Laden was constantly exposed to the often contradictory
trends influencing Saudi society at the time. As Saudi Arabia's main port city
on the Red Sea coast, Jedda was exposed to Western influence more than most
other Saudi cities were. Sailors and experts came to Jedda, while the
increasingly rich local elite, including the bin Laden family, visited the West.
Coming from generally conservative and isolated Saudi Arabia, these visitors
were shocked by their encounter with the West -- by the personal freedoms and
affluence of the average citizen, by the promiscuity, and by the alcohol and
drug use of Western youth. Many young Saudis could not resist experimenting with
the forbidden. When they returned to Saudi Arabia, they brought with them the
sense of individualism and personal freedoms they encountered in the West.
Excerpted from bin Laden by Yossef Bodansky Copyright 2001 by Yossef Bodansky. Excerpted by permission of Prima Lifestyles, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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