Interview: Bin Laden's Sister-in-Law Gives Rare Glimpse of Him, Saudi Life

[Blackaxe]

The only family member to talk openly about Osama bin Laden describes him as pious and merciless, a man so driven by his beliefs that he once denied a water bottle to his own infant son in the heat of the Saudi desert.

Carmen Binladin, the terrorist leader's sister-in-law, says bin Laden's religious conviction was so admired by his family that she refuses to believe his relatives have stopped supporting him, as they claim.

In a new book and during an extensive interview with The Associated Press, she said a turning point in her life was a bin Laden family gathering in Taef, Saudi Arabia, one sweltering day in the mid-1970s.

Bin Laden's son began crying for water, she said, but the elder bin Laden refused to allow the baby to be given a water bottle, saying the boy should be fed water with a spoon because of Muslim teachings.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBKXUUYHWD.html

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Religiousity is not the same as spirituality

It is like putting on the trappings of beauty but not doing anything inside. Spirituality, on the other hand, doesn't worry so much about outside conventions but more about what is happening within one.

Reminds me of an old story:

A man who was supposedly very pius laid out his rug in front of his shop to perform his prayers. While doing so, a beautiful young woman walked right in front of him. Angry, he called to the woman, "You have committed a sin, walking in front of someone at prayer!" The woman turned and looked at him. "I'm sorry," she replied. "I was thinking of my Beloved, and nothing else. I didn't even see you there." She paused, then added, "But if you were truly praying to The Beloved, why was it that you even noticed me?"

[thecrow]

2. Osama and the SA Royal Family

She said there may also be ties between Osama and the royal family, despite his criticism of the royals for their support of the United States and alleged corruption within the government.

"The bin Ladens and the princes work together, very closely," Binladen wrote. "They are secretive, and they are united. They have been inextricably linked for many decades through close friendships and business ventures."
:wtf:
Princes.....? Like BANDAR BUSH???
Wouldn't it be horrible if we find out that Prince Bandar (Bandar "Bush") is akin to Ahmed Chalabi?
It really unnerves me the way Smirk cozies up to and protects that Saudi Arabian family!

[Yavin4]

3. For Every One "Contact" Saddam Had With Al Qeda , The Saudi...

Royal Family and the Pakistani leadership probably had a thousand, which makes this whole Saddam-Al Qeda connection as justification for the war look even more ridiculous.

[Moderator]

4. Duplicate topic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=677352