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Biography of Osama bin LadenName: Osama bin LadenBirth Date: 1957 Death Date: N/A Place of Birth: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Nationality: Saudi Gender: Male Occupations: terrorist, militant Osama bin Laden The Islamic fundamentalist leader Osama bin Laden (born 1957), a harsh critic of the United States and its policies, is widely believed to have orchestrated the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa, as well as the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden. But it is his role as the apparent mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that have made bin Laden one of the most infamous and sought-after figures in recent history.The 6-foot-5, lanky, bearded leader--soft-spoken and effeminate, even when he rails against America--is a man of tremendous wealth, and makes an unlikely spokesman for the poor and oppressed people of Islam whom he claims to represent. Nevertheless, his call for a jihad, or holy war, against the United States and Israel, has been heeded by like-minded fundamentalist Muslims.Raised in Great …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…who support a radical fundamentalist brand of Islam, remain devoted to their leader and continue to heed his call for a holy war. Ever wary of the price America has put on his head, he has reportedly chosen a successor: Muhammad Atef, an Egyptian Muslim who married bin Laden's daughter in January 2001. After 2001, TV and radio reporters in the Middle East have continued to receive information from bin Laden in the form of video and audio tapes--some suspect, some more reliable--proving his continued existence and defiance of the U.S. Further Reading Anonymous, October 12, 2001.BBC News, http://www.news.bbc.co.uk (January 14, 2003).FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, http://www.fbi.gov (January 14, 2003).Los Angeles Times, September 15, 2001.New York Times, September 14, 2001; October 28, 2001.Reuters, October 3, 2001."Hunting bin Laden," Frontline, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen (October 24, 2001)."Laden, Osama bin," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com (October 24, 2001). |