Osama Bin Laden Influence

Osama bin Laden is the 17th out of 52 children, born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1957. His father Mohammed bin Laden, was an immigrant who had owned the largest construction company in the Saudi kingdom. Bin Laden believed that Islam was more than just a religion. In the late 1970s while he attended college, he became a follower of scholar Abdullah Azzam, a “radical pan-Islamist.” He had believed all Muslims should rise up in jihad, to create a single Islamic state. Bin Laden supported his idea because of his bitterness towards growing Western influences on Middle Eastern life. Bin Laden was first influenced by the Al Thagher teachers who offered extracurricular Islamic lessons. These teachers were apart of a Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic political group who promoted means to achieve Islamic governance.

Soon after Soviet troops seized Afghanistan in 1979, Azzam and bin Laden traveled to Peshawar, to join the resistance. To become fighters they gained financial and moral support from Afghan rebels, the mujahideen. They encouraged young men to join Afghan jihad, from the Middle East. The Maktab al-Khidamat also known as the MAK, …show more content…
This group was going to focus on acts of terrorism instead of campaigns for their military. These acts of terrorism were symbolic to them in a way. Under bin laden’s leadership, the group funded and began organizing global attacks worldwide. His family also disowned him, cutting off his $7 million yearly stipend. The royal family that was pro-Western were afraid that bin Laden might cause problems in the kingdom. After bin Laden proposed to send “Afghan Arabs” to secure the border after Iraq invaded Kuwait, the royal family decided to take away his passport and denied his proposal. The family soon sought help from the United States. Bin Laden was offended that they had looked for help from the “enemy”. He then decided he would get revenge and prove Al Qaeda was stronger than the