| GREG-STRANGE.COM |
"If you haven't found something strange during the
day, it hasn't been much of a day." -- John A. Wheeler
day, it hasn't been much of a day." -- John A. Wheeler
PROVIDING SUBSTANTIVE COMMENTARY ON THE
PEOPLE, POLITICS, EVENTS AND ABSURDITIES OF
OUR TIME. SERVED UP WITH ACERBIC WIT, YOU
SHOULD FIND IT QUITE SATISFYING.
PEOPLE, POLITICS, EVENTS AND ABSURDITIES OF
OUR TIME. SERVED UP WITH ACERBIC WIT, YOU
SHOULD FIND IT QUITE SATISFYING.
A Different Kind of Bin Laden
It's not everyday you see a plethora of headlines like the
following:
"Bin Laden son wants to be peace activist."
"Bin Laden's son in horse ride for peace."
"Osama's son wants British visa to live with granny bride."
What the heck is up with all that? Well, let's just say it appears
that the apple doesn't necessarily fall near the tree after all.
One of Osama bin Laden's 19 children (that he knows of,
anyway), Omar bin Laden has decided not to follow in his
father's footsteps as the ultimate holy warrior for radical Islam.
In a recent interview in Cairo, the 26-year-old, who bears a
striking resemblance to his dad, was sporting a black leather
biker jacket and dreadlocks that dangled halfway down his
back. This dude is obviously way too cool to get hung up on his
old man's bad trips and has opted out of a lifestyle of fomenting
apocalyptic Islamic terrorism against Western civilization.
Omar once lived with his father in Sudan and then moved with
him to Afghanistan where he trained at an al-Qaida camp. In
2000, he says he basically decided the whole Islamic terror
thing was a total drag and he walked away from it all.
"I don't want to be in that situation to just fight," he said. "I
like to find another way and this other way may be like we do
now, talking."
Omar suggested that his father didn't oppose his leaving, but it
had to be a pretty gutsy move nonetheless. The words "honor
killing" had to have crossed his mind before he split. But
apparently, at least in terms of their personal relationship, the
old guy wasn't a total bummer.
On the other hand, the father can't exactly be thrilled that his
son wants to be an "ambassador for peace" between Muslims
and the West. If the boy doesn't want to fight, okay, so he's a
little more sensitive than some. Waging jihad from primitive
backwater locales and living in caves isn't for everyone. But
hobnob with infidels? Despite the best intentions and
child-rearing techniques, one can never know how a child will
turn out.
This whole peacenik thing is not the first time this son of the
world's most wanted terrorist has made a splash in the news.
The tabloids went bonkers last year when he married a
52-year-old, well-seasoned British grandmother named Jane
Felix-Browne whose coupling with bin Laden is her fifth
matrimonial undertaking. They couldn't resist a slew of
mockingly sensational headlines like "the granny who married
bin Laden's son" and more recently "Osama's son wants British
visa to live with granny bride."
I say leave the doting couple alone because they've got some
pretty grand ideas when it comes to advocating peace, one of
which is to stage a 3,000-mile horse race across North Africa.
Still in the planning stages, they're seeking approval of
governments along the route and looking for sponsors to help
pay for the event and raise money for child victims of war.
They see it as an equine version of the cancelled Paris-Dakar
auto rally. "I heard the rally was stopped because of al-Qaida,"
Omar said. "I don't think they are going to stop me."
Let's hope not. "It's about changing the ideas of the Western
mind. A lot of people think Arabs . . . are all terrorists. This is
not the truth," Omar continued.
Actually, nobody's saying all Arabs are terrorists, but it's a sad
fact that most terrorists happen to be Arabs. As for "changing
the ideas of the Western mind," Omar's got it backwards. It's
his old man and all his followers, admirers and apologists who
need a serious talking to. They're the ones either waging or
making excuses for jihad while the West, on the other hand,
has elevated multiculturalism to something akin to a religion
and continues to practice a nearly insane degree of tolerance
even in the face of the obvious threat from radical Islam.
Still, we should all wish the best for Omar bin Laden and his
been-around-the-block bride with their peaceful endeavors.
Anything's better than another bin Laden following in his
daddy's footsteps.
It's not everyday you see a plethora of headlines like the
following:
"Bin Laden son wants to be peace activist."
"Bin Laden's son in horse ride for peace."
"Osama's son wants British visa to live with granny bride."
What the heck is up with all that? Well, let's just say it appears
that the apple doesn't necessarily fall near the tree after all.
One of Osama bin Laden's 19 children (that he knows of,
anyway), Omar bin Laden has decided not to follow in his
father's footsteps as the ultimate holy warrior for radical Islam.
In a recent interview in Cairo, the 26-year-old, who bears a
striking resemblance to his dad, was sporting a black leather
biker jacket and dreadlocks that dangled halfway down his
back. This dude is obviously way too cool to get hung up on his
old man's bad trips and has opted out of a lifestyle of fomenting
apocalyptic Islamic terrorism against Western civilization.
Omar once lived with his father in Sudan and then moved with
him to Afghanistan where he trained at an al-Qaida camp. In
2000, he says he basically decided the whole Islamic terror
thing was a total drag and he walked away from it all.
"I don't want to be in that situation to just fight," he said. "I
like to find another way and this other way may be like we do
now, talking."
Omar suggested that his father didn't oppose his leaving, but it
had to be a pretty gutsy move nonetheless. The words "honor
killing" had to have crossed his mind before he split. But
apparently, at least in terms of their personal relationship, the
old guy wasn't a total bummer.
On the other hand, the father can't exactly be thrilled that his
son wants to be an "ambassador for peace" between Muslims
and the West. If the boy doesn't want to fight, okay, so he's a
little more sensitive than some. Waging jihad from primitive
backwater locales and living in caves isn't for everyone. But
hobnob with infidels? Despite the best intentions and
child-rearing techniques, one can never know how a child will
turn out.
This whole peacenik thing is not the first time this son of the
world's most wanted terrorist has made a splash in the news.
The tabloids went bonkers last year when he married a
52-year-old, well-seasoned British grandmother named Jane
Felix-Browne whose coupling with bin Laden is her fifth
matrimonial undertaking. They couldn't resist a slew of
mockingly sensational headlines like "the granny who married
bin Laden's son" and more recently "Osama's son wants British
visa to live with granny bride."
I say leave the doting couple alone because they've got some
pretty grand ideas when it comes to advocating peace, one of
which is to stage a 3,000-mile horse race across North Africa.
Still in the planning stages, they're seeking approval of
governments along the route and looking for sponsors to help
pay for the event and raise money for child victims of war.
They see it as an equine version of the cancelled Paris-Dakar
auto rally. "I heard the rally was stopped because of al-Qaida,"
Omar said. "I don't think they are going to stop me."
Let's hope not. "It's about changing the ideas of the Western
mind. A lot of people think Arabs . . . are all terrorists. This is
not the truth," Omar continued.
Actually, nobody's saying all Arabs are terrorists, but it's a sad
fact that most terrorists happen to be Arabs. As for "changing
the ideas of the Western mind," Omar's got it backwards. It's
his old man and all his followers, admirers and apologists who
need a serious talking to. They're the ones either waging or
making excuses for jihad while the West, on the other hand,
has elevated multiculturalism to something akin to a religion
and continues to practice a nearly insane degree of tolerance
even in the face of the obvious threat from radical Islam.
Still, we should all wish the best for Omar bin Laden and his
been-around-the-block bride with their peaceful endeavors.
Anything's better than another bin Laden following in his
daddy's footsteps.