Let’s start off by naming names. Osama bin Laden’s father = Muhammed bin Oud bin Laden Osama’s mother = Alia Ghanem Osama’s first wife = Najwa Ghanem Najwa Ghanem is the daughter of Alia’s brother (first cousin) Osama’s patriarchical bloodline is mysterious. Even more so considering the importance of the male bloodline in the Middle Eastern culture. What we do know for sure is, Muhammed bin Oud Bin Laden emigrated from Yemen to Saudi Arabia. We also know this, bin Oud bin Laden is a very Saudi sounding name. More on this later. For now, we will concentrate on his matriarchal bloodline. It’s a doozy. Alia Ghanem was an Alawite. As is Najwa. Both Najwa and Osama’s son (Omar) live in the Syrian enclave of Latakiya (a popular locale for Alawites). What is an Alawite? It’s a highly secretive and heretical branch of Shia Islam. Before we go further, we need to examine Osama’s (and, his father’s) religious orientation. He’s officially aligned with Wahhabism, which is an extreme branch of Sunni Islam with a particular adherence to the Haddith (laws of Islam). It’s also the official religion of Saudi Arabia. Why should we care about Wahhabiists and Alawites? Ibn Taimiya, founder of Wahhabism, declared in a Fatwah that the Alawites were “greater Infidels than Christians or Jews” Why are Alawites such heretics? Maybe because they celebrate Christmas, Easter and the Epiphany. Maybe because they celebrate Nawruz (Zoroastrian New Year). Maybe because they believe in transubstantiation. Maybe because they use wine in their Communion-like ceremonies. Maybe it’s because Alawites don’t adhere to the Haddith? Maybe because they believe in incarnation? The question comes up, why would a successful Yemeni businessman, living in Saudi Arabia and practicing Wahhabism travel to Syria to marry an Alawite? Why would his son (Osama) do the exact same thing. Would Osama marry a Christian? A Jew? “greater Infidels than Christians or Jews” Alawites are outcasts of Islam. Especially from Wahhabism. They are outcasts in the entire Middle East. Let’s return to Osama’s father. Why would Muhammed bin Oud bin Laden’s patriarchal line be so mysterious? Why does he have a Saudi sounding name if he was Yemeni? Luck? Could an Alawite emigrate from Yemen and assimilate into Saudi culture? Become the confidante of the royal family? Be given the honor of reconstruction of Mecca and Medina? Would the royal family give such honor to anyone outside the Wahhabi faith? Or, someone without a Saudi sounding name? Why would a famous man like Muhammed bin Oud bin Laden have a mysterious patriarchal past? “A porter/bricklayer from Yemen”. Not much of a profile, huh? Did Muhammed bin Oud bin Laden change his name before immigrating to Saudi Arabia? Did he change his religious affiliation? We may never know the answers to those questions. But, it’s an interesting hypothesis. Especially considering his murky patriarchal past and his seemingly counter-intuitive marriage to Alia. What does this all mean? Osama bin Laden can’t be described as “Saudi”. That’s what was simply on his passport. He “might” be described as half Yemeni and half Syrian. After all, Syria is where most of the Alawites have settled. A better description is half Yemeni and half Alawite. An even better description is half (?) and half Alawite. (What you can’t be is Alawite and Wahhabi. They are polar opposites.) In conclusion, Osama’s patriarchal heritage is certainly murky. But, his matriarchal heritage is not. Osama's matriarchal bloodline may help us understand why his father’s bloodline is so mysterious. NOTE: Alawites seemingly use the term interchangeably to describe either a religious affiliation or an ethic group (similar to how Jews describe themselves).. ------------------Bin Laden's Family Ties Bind and Bedevil a Syrian Clan Mideast: Najwa Ghanem's kin worry for her--she's wed to world's most wanted man. By MICHAEL SLACKMAN, Times Staff Writer LATAKIA, Syria — Najwa Ghanem's family is terribly worried about her safety. Not only is the mother of 11 living in the Taliban-controlled section of Afghanistan--she is married to the world's most wanted man, Osama bin Laden. When the war broke out, her relatives in this coastal city would have liked Bin Laden to send Ghanem and the children to safety abroad. But they all stayed in Afghanistan, and since bombs began to pummel the mountainous region, she has made no contact with her family here. "Everything that her husband is convinced of, she is convinced of," said Laila Ghanem, 30, her younger sister by six years. "They share a conviction in a certain lifestyle, and she is convinced of this." The Ghanem family has a double-sided bond to Bin Laden. His wife and her siblings are also Bin Laden's first cousins--a common phenomenon in the clannish world that exists both in Saudi Arabia and among the extended families of this part of western Syria. So although Ghanem's brothers and sisters are worried for her, they also are supportive of their cousin, whom they spent summers with as children, riding horses, swimming in the Mediterranean and picking fruit in the orchards that blanket the countryside. Although much attention has been focused on Bin Laden's Saudi ties (his Yemeni father who founded a Saudi construction empire; his 53 brothers and sisters who control a multibillion-dollar fortune), Bin Laden's maternal line has been comparatively ignored. His mother, Alia, comes from a working-class family that is largely secular. Ghanem, Bin Laden's first wife, is the daughter of Alia's brother. They married when she was 14 and he was about 18. In their first interview with a Western news organization, family members here said that as Bin Laden grew from an unusually quiet, religious young man into a radical fundamentalist, his mother became increasingly worried. Whether her feelings stemmed from ideological differences with her son or fear for his safety is unclear, but family members said she tried to stop him. "In the beginning of his path, being a mother, she was very concerned," Laila Ghanem said. "But when she saw this was his conviction, something that he would not budge from, she said, 'God protect him.' " Six members of the Ghanem family agreed to speak about their now-infamous cousin and brother-in-law, but they were cautious and nervous and would not permit themselves to be photographed. Although they receive no benefits from having super-rich relations (they live modest, middle-class lives), they are afraid of a backlash from the powerful and secretive Saudi side of the family. "His mother started out trying to stop him," said Najah Ghanem, 40, another cousin. "She wanted him to come back and live in Saudi Arabia, but he didn't." Her brother Suleiman, 51, cut her off, saying, "Careful, you will make your cousin look bad." The Bin Laden connection to Latakia began in 1956, when Mohammed bin Oud bin Laden came to what was then a small seaside port surrounded by poor villages. The Ghanems said he had married a local woman before taking Alia as his fourth and final wife. Together they had only one child, the relatives said. His name was Osama. This city of 320,000 is a stronghold of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Islam that controls Syria's government and security forces. Historically, there has been tension between the conservative Sunni arm of Islam and the Alawites. Though there has been widespread speculation that Bin Laden's mother was an Alawite--which could have complicated his early life in Sunni-controlled Saudi Arabia--the Ghanems insist the family is Sunni. When Alia moved to Saudi Arabia with her husband, she left behind her two brothers, a sister and their growing families. Every summer, from the time Osama was 1 until this August, Alia summered in Latakia, sharing a house with her nephew Naji, 43, and his family. Naji said Osama accompanied his mother to Latakia every year until he was 17 and then stopped because he grew busy with his studies and work. "We were a regular family," Naji said, sitting in his living room beneath a poster-size photograph of the Muslim holy site of Mecca. "We would go camping, go to the beach. It was a normal life, like any other family." Of course, there were dramatic differences between the Latakia clan and their Saudi-born cousin. When Osama was 13, his father died in a helicopter crash and he inherited $80 million. By comparison, some members of the Ghanem family struggled to get by, growing oranges nearby in the rundown village of Jabaryoun. "Had there not been an agricultural campaign, we would have absolutely nothing," said Houssameddine Ghanem, 38, referring to the few acres of orange groves given to his family by the regime of the late Hafez Assad. Although the cousins said the young Bin Laden never flaunted his immense wealth, Suleiman Ghanem recalled one occasion when the differences in their worlds became more than obvious. "There was a lake close by with an island in it that he really liked," Suleiman Ghanem said. "He asked if he could buy the island and live on it." Aside from their repeated declarations that Bin Laden was "smart" and "modest," the cousins said they have two memories that stand out. He was very, very quiet, they said, a loner who stayed to himself and had trouble relating to other people. And he often spoke of his desire to grow up so he could take control of his father's business empire. In 1974, when the family said Bin Laden was about 18, he sent for his intended bride, 14-year-old Najwa. The family honored its obligation and dispatched the young girl from her home, where women did not wear veils and were free to live secular lives, to the restrictive world of Saudi Arabia. Since then, Bin Laden has taken three more wives, which is permitted in Islam. "He is my cousin and spent his childhood here," said Naji Ghanem, Najwa Ghanem's older brother. "He saw my sister, liked her and asked for her hand in marriage." Ghanem had 11 children with Bin Laden. She did not return to visit her family until two years ago, when she traveled here for a month in the summer. Laila Ghanem said her sister always wore a veil and was very uncomfortable with her refusal to do so as well. She spoke little about her life in Afghanistan, though she said it was spartan. "She, being the wife of Bin Laden, should have a lot of money, but she didn't once complain about her life," Laila Ghanem said. "She became like him." When Bin Laden's mother--who remarried after her first husband's death--visited Latakia this summer, she again expressed concern about her son's safety. However, the cousins said reports that Bin Laden had phoned her before Sept. 11 to cancel a planned visit to Syria were fabricated. "For 20 years he hasn't been here, and suddenly he calls his mother and says he is not coming?" Suleiman Ghanem said. "She has not heard her son's voice since he went to Afghanistan." These days, Naji Ghanem and his family spend a lot of time sitting in their living room waiting for news from Afghanistan. They watch an old television set that makes everything look blue. They do not believe that Bin Laden is a terrorist or that he was behind the attacks on New York and the Pentagon. Even if he and his family should die in the war, some of the cousins remain philosophical. "This man has chosen this path, and this is fate," Suleiman Ghanem said. "I believe his mother's conviction is if he dies today, he will live tomorrow in heaven."

That is pretty interesting. I bet that it is a real challenge beng a CIA analyst trying to figure out these inbreed pedigree bastards: different religous/ethnic groups, vernaculars, heritage, bussiness ties, geography....

Are you arguing that Osma Bin Laden is kind of a false prophet??

Man,The news report that you attach at the end of your post says that the family stresses that they are Sunnis. You think they are lying? They don't have to. In fact, they hardly can.

QuoteOriginally posted by: DavidAre you arguing that Osma Bin Laden is kind of a false prophet??What lead you to believe that?The point I am making is, people should understand more precisely ethnicity and religion. People paint with a broad stroke the entire mid-east as, "Arab" or "Muslim."

QuoteOriginally posted by: ManQuoteOriginally posted by: DavidAre you arguing that Osma Bin Laden is kind of a false prophet??What lead you to believe that?Mystical mysteries come easily to David

QuoteOriginally posted by: ManThe point I am making is, people should understand more precisely ethnicity and religion. People paint with a broad stroke the entire mid-east as, "Arab" or "Muslim."The question “What is the real ethnicity of Osama Bin Laden?” is as interested as the yesteryear is snow. I think that when he says: “I am holier than thou”, most Arabs and Muslims, if not everyone, will take it for granted. He has gained himself an aura of holiness, quite similar to the epic narrative of Samson in the Old Testament (see: Judg. 13-16). So his fate is beyond the scope of earthly justice, beyond ethnicity and beyond early life. It is a matter that one should take very seriously though.

What David said.There is really something unseemly about trying to understand someone based upon the ethnicity of his parents.

QuoteOriginally posted by: MarsdenWhat David said.David speaks in tongues.

There is really something unseemly about trying to understand someone based upon the ethnicity of his parents. Unseemly and frankly rather silly.I'm sure OBL would like to seem himself as a "man of destiny", forged from some unique heritage, and sadly so would his enemies.Everyone has "mysterious" and contradictory bits of family history. "Mysterious" in Saudi Arabia isn't that hard, since literacy has never been great, and was recently much worse. A family of any size will contain contradictions and black sheep. Alawite's are secretive ?Well, that's nice for them. This is Arabia, being the slightly wrong type of Moslem can get you and your family horribly murdered. Wouldn't you be secretive there ? I would.Look at the history of early Christians, quite similar, they even got blamed for terrorism by Nero.(Scary picture of Bush as Caligula appeared then in my head)Islam picked up most of its delusional framework from the shabby nonsense believed by other people in the middle east. Mohammed himself worshipped in places sacred to Jews and Christians, Jesus started off as a Jew, and his followers from the vast wealth of madness in that region.Thus if you look at any religion, you will find that there are people who believe some of the intermediate forms between the "pure" rubbish that the big groups wank over.Every so often one gets big enough to impose their ignorance over a relgion, and it stops being secretive.