Usama bin Laden Biography Essays - 1450 Words

Usama bin Laden and His Selection Of Terrorism Usama bin Laden, born in 1957, comes from a wealthy Saudi Arabian family that owns a multinational construction business. He used his inherited wealth to finance Afghan forces fighting the Soviet Unions occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980’s. After the 1991 Gulf War, he was distressed that Saudi Arabia allowed U.S. forces to remain in the Arabian Peninsula. To advance his agenda of expelling the U.S. from the Islamic world, he worked with other anti-Western fundamentalists to organize a secretive, highly compartmentalized terrorist network, known as al-Qaida. It is through his upbringing, education, culture, and wars in Islamic countries, that Usama bin Laden has sought to purge the†¦show more content†¦Whereas Usama’s father may have been a strict disciplinarian, he was also a successful businessman. Usama bin Laden’s father founded the Bin Laden Group construction company. The Bin Laden Group became heavily involved in Saudi government contracts that facilitated the Bin Laden’s financial wealth. The construction company is known for building mosques in Mecca and Medina in addition to highways and palaces.2 Usama also worked in his fathers business from where he eventually amassed a fortune to finance mujahideen in Afghanistan. While Usama bin Laden was attending King Abdul-Aziz University, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. He had maintained contact with some of the pilgrims he met during Hajj that stayed with his family, and with his two teachers that mentored him while attending the university. These are the individuals that influenced him to journey to Afghanistan within the first few weeks of the invasion. â€Å"During the early stages of the mujahideen (Holy Warrior) resistance, bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan to meet with scholars and leaders who had been guests at his family’s house. He began lobbying for the mujahideen and raised large amounts of money for their cause.†2 After his initial trip to Afghanistan, Usama binShow MoreRelatedLawrence Wrights The Looming Tower Essay1664 Words   |  7 Pageswas Al-Qa’ida. In order to understand the amount of time and effort placed on the research and integrity that supports The Looming Tower, it would help to understand a bit about the author and his background, Lawrence Wright. According to the biography on his website, Wright is no stranger to the Middle East. Having both studied and taught at the American University in Cairo in 1969, he brings firsthand knowledge of the region. He also noted that he did study a bit of Arabic during his days overseas