NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Osama Bin Laden's mother Alia Ghanem breaks silence

By Julian Robinson
Daily Mail·
3 Aug, 2018 10:01 PM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The family of Osama bin Laden fear his son is intent on 'avenging his father's death' and have pleaded with him not to follow in the terror mastermind's footsteps

The family of Osama bin Laden fear his son is intent on "avenging his father's death" and have pleaded with him not to follow in the terror mastermind's footsteps.

Bin Laden was shot dead by a US Navy Seal team in Pakistan in 2011 and his son, Hamza last year called for revenge terror attacks on the US.

The 29-year-old, who jihadis have hailed as the "heir" to the leadership of terror group al-Qaeda, is believed to have travelled to Afghanistan, reports Daily Mail.

In an interview, his family, who live in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, urged Hamza not to follow the same path as his father, who approved the devastating 9/11 terror attacks on the New York in 2001 which killed 2,977 people.

One of his uncles, Hassan, told the Guardian: "We thought everyone was over this. Then the next thing I knew, Hamza was saying, 'I am going to avenge my father.' I don't want to go through that again.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"If Hamza was in front of me now, I would tell him, 'God guide you. Think twice about what you are doing. Don't retake the steps of your father. You are entering horrible parts of your soul'."

In November, Osama bin Laden's 'favourite' son called on Muslims around the world to launch terror attacks on the US for killing his father.

In an audio message, Hamza bin Laden, believed to be around 28, urged Muslims to 'to take revenge on the Americans, the murderers of the Shaykh [Osama bin Laden], specifically on those who participated in this heinous crime.'

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It came just days after Hamza's wedding video was released, showing the 'Crown Prince of Terror' as an adult for the first time.

This was released by the CIA as part of a trove of material recovered during the May 2011 raid that killed the terror group leader at his compound in Pakistan.

Until then, the public had only seen childhood photos of Hamza, which have been used as propaganda tools by al Qaeda. It's believed the militants have not released pictures of him as an adult for his own safety.

In recent years, he has emerged as the heir to his father's throne and become a prominent member of the terrorist organization.

Discover more

World

Why Bin Laden's bodyguard gets German welfare

24 Apr 07:29 PM
World

Brexit is already changing life on border

04 Aug 10:03 PM
World

Bin Laden's son and successor confirmed dead

31 Jul 08:14 PM
Hamza (pictured), who jihadis have hailed as the 'heir' to the leadership of al-Qaeda, last year called on Muslims around the world to launch terror attacks on the US. Photo / AP
Hamza (pictured), who jihadis have hailed as the 'heir' to the leadership of al-Qaeda, last year called on Muslims around the world to launch terror attacks on the US. Photo / AP

Dubbed the 'Crown Prince of Terror', he has purportedly called for terrorist attacks on London, Washington and Paris in an audio message released by Al Qaeda.

In January of this year, he was officially designated a terrorist by the United States.

The U.S. State Department added him, to its list of global terrorists after confirming he had followed in his father's footsteps to join al Qaeda.

Al Qaeda senior leader Ayman al-Zawahiri released a tape in August 2015, claiming that Hamza had joined the group. In the audio message, Hamza himself spoke and called for lone wolf attacks.

But speaking at their home in Jeddah, the bin Laden family begged him not to emulate his father.

In the same interview, Osama bin Laden's mother broke her 17-year silence to insist the fanatic turned to terror after being "brainwashed by a cult".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Alia Ghanem said the al-Qaeda boss was a 'very good kid' but became radicalised at the King Abdulaziz University in his 20s.

Ghanem, now in her 70s, revealed Osama became a "different man" and that it never crossed her mind her "shy" and "pious" son would go on to become a jihadist.

In an interview with Martin Chulov for the Guardian, Ghanem and her family - still influential in Saudi society - spoke at length about Osama.

Ghanem lives in a wealthy area of Jeddah in a mansion including a spiral staircase at leading to a number of "cavernous rooms", according to the report. Framed pictures of the extremist are dotted around her living room - one of them showing the bearded fanatic smiling in a military outfit.

Ghanem insisted her first-born son had been a deeply religious individual who "changed" at university.

"He was a very good child until he met some people who pretty much brainwashed him in his early 20s. You can call it a cult. They got money for their cause. I would always tell him to stay away from them, and he would never admit to me what he was doing, because he loved me so much."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It was at university that he met a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Abdullah Azzam, who went on to become his spiritual adviser, the Guardian reports.

Ghanem said her son had spent all his money "sneaking off" to Afghanistan under the guise of family business but that the family was left "extremely upset" on realising he had in fact become a jihadist.

Bin Laden approved the devastating 9/11 terror attacks on the New York in 2001 which killed 2,977 people. Photo / Getty Images
Bin Laden approved the devastating 9/11 terror attacks on the New York in 2001 which killed 2,977 people. Photo / Getty Images

Osama's half-brothers waited until their mother was out of the room to reveal she remains in denial about the terror lord and 'refuses to blame him' - instead pointing at "those around him".

They said they were "shocked and stunned" when news of the World Trade Centre atrocity emerged and knew within two days that Osama's al-Qaeda was behind the attack.

One of his half brothers, Ahmad, told the Guardian that "from the youngest to the eldest" the family "felt ashamed" of Osama and that their mother still "only knows the good boy side".

They revealed that they last saw Osama in Afghanistan in 1999, seeing him twice at his headquarters near the airport in Kandahar.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Two of bin Laden's wives now live nearby in Jeddah along with their children, they said. Ghanem said that she speaks "to his harem most weeks".

For many years, the bin Laden family said they were banned from travelling by the Saudi government who also questioned the extremist's relatives. However, they are now free to travel outside the kingdom.

Bin Laden approved the devastating 9/11 terror attacks on the New York in 2001 which killed 2,977 people. He ran the al-Qaeda jihadist network until he was tracked down to a compound in Pakistan and shot dead by US special forces in 2011.

The terror mastermind was with his youngest wife, Amal bin Laden, and their children on the night his hideaway was raided by American SEALs.

The operation took just minutes and the military forces left with bin Laden's body.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Milestone move: Taiwan's submarine programme advances amid challenges

18 Jun 04:23 AM
World

Why Parnia Abbasi's death became a flashpoint in Iran-Israel conflict

18 Jun 02:36 AM
Premium
World

How Trump shifted on Iran under pressure from Israel

18 Jun 01:59 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Milestone move: Taiwan's submarine programme advances amid challenges

Milestone move: Taiwan's submarine programme advances amid challenges

18 Jun 04:23 AM

The 80m submarine features US combat systems and torpedoes.

Why Parnia Abbasi's death became a flashpoint in Iran-Israel conflict

Why Parnia Abbasi's death became a flashpoint in Iran-Israel conflict

18 Jun 02:36 AM
Premium
How Trump shifted on Iran under pressure from Israel

How Trump shifted on Iran under pressure from Israel

18 Jun 01:59 AM
Premium
Nature's role: Studies show green spaces help in reducing loneliness

Nature's role: Studies show green spaces help in reducing loneliness

18 Jun 01:56 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP