"Life WAS more agreeable when my father was far, far away", 10 January 2016

This review is from: Growing Up Bin Laden (Paperback)
Ghost written by Jean Sasson, the insider information about Osama's real character and family life comes from his first wife, Najwa, and fourth son, Omar.
Najwa recalls her teenage marriage, her husband's promises to protect her like a prized pearl ...which all seems so tragic as the bright, normal Syrian girl has to take the veil and unquestioningly accept her husband's decisions, whether it's to take more wives or to forbid the family to use the air-conditioning and fridge (as all modern inventions are 'un-Islamic': strangely that doesn't include the fast cars that Osama so likes.
Meanwhile Omar recalls life as one of a huge family (his mother alone had eleven children), his father's unbending sternness and devotion to jihad - even asking his sons to volunteer as suicide bombers. And as Osama's antics cause countries to 'evict' him, the family moved from the comfort of Saudi Arabia to Sudan to the bleak, freezing Tora Bora Mountains of Afghanistan....
Very interesting read. ( )

I really liked the segments by Najwa, Osama's first wife. She really gives us a great picture of who Osama was as a man and as a husband, that really challenges the stereotypes we are bombarded with by politicians and the corporate media. By and large, he seems to have cared a lot about her and treated her as well as he could, or well as he could under the circumstances he generated. She is a woman who still clearly loves her husband and despite everything remains loyal to his memory. There are times when she seems cognizant that something is wrong, as when she discusses the loneliness she felt when Osama took his second wife, but found comfort in the patriarchal dogma of her religion. She is a sensitive and loving woman, and a smart woman, albeit a smart woman whose dedication to her husband and her children overrode any concern for her own welfare.

Omar's accounts are also interesting. Although his father treated his wife and daughters well, he was much harsher in raising his sons. In a large way, Osama saw his sons as the Islamic soldiers of the future, and raised him towards this purpose. A sensitive boy, Omar would not be molded the way his father wanted, and craved for his love. I can understand why he broke from his father, and I can understand and respect why he has striven for peace, particularly in light of his life situation, but I don't necessarily understand why the book tries to construct him as brave. It could be said that he was brave in standing up to his father the way he did, but I don't see that it was particularly brave to flee his family in Afghanistan to live the life of luxury and privilege that he was accustomed to as a child. He was also far less than brave or else extremely naïve to deny that Saudi Arabia was behind the assassination attempt against his father when they were living in Sudan. Presumably, Omar recognized that he would wear out his welcome in Saudi Arabia were he to make the obvious conclusions about the actions of the Saudi royals. All of this said, Osama's son seems to be a good man with a troubled past, trying to find his way forward. His relationship with his father provides the reader with a helpful and interesting alternative to Najwa's more intimate perspective.

Jean Sasson's commentary is rather irritating for the most part. Her purpose in this book seems simply to be to reconcile these first person accounts humanizing Osama with the xenophobic accounts of the corporate media portraying him as an inhuman monster. Although it is true that she provides some context in certain parts of the book where it is helpful, on the whole I am mostly grateful that she wrote as little in the book as she did. Her closing section is particularly annoying, being in total context to much of the rest of the book. But on the whole I am glad that she has put this book together for publication. It is probably the most honest biography available on Osama bin Laden. ( )

I have no idea who Jean Sasson is (I will shortly google her), but I take exception to her final remarks in this book: She seems to be apologizing for having helped Omar and Najwa tell their story, all the while reaping the rewards for writing it. It does not appease me for her to write "I would like for readers to know that a percentage of the profits from the sale of this book will be devoted to the cause of education," since she does not say what percentage, or where these education dollars will be spent. Actually, it had never occurred to me to censure her until she wrote her final apology.

It is difficult for any of us, I think, or at least most of us, to truly enter into the spirit of another culture. Najwa presents her story with honor, and I am tempted to believe her. Omar is a scarred young man. I hope he finds a way to live the rest of his life in peace while he carries his family name with pride. Osama (or Ossama, as his name actually should be rendered) is a troubled man. The world condemns him. Yet, there is that of God even in such a person. God rest his soul.