Bin Laden's braided peacenik son on a mission

[redtanker]

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Omar Osama bin Laden bears a striking resemblance to his notorious father -- except for the braids that dangle halfway down his back. Then there's the black leather biker jacket.


Omar Osama bin Laden is convinced a truce between the West and al Qaeda is possible.

The 26-year-old does not renounce his father, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, but in an interview with The Associated Press, he said there is better way to defend Islam than militancy: Omar wants to be an "ambassador for peace" between Muslims and the West.

Omar -- one of bin Laden's 19 children -- raised a tabloid storm last year when he married a 52-year-old British woman, Jane Felix-Browne, who took the name Zaina Alsabah. Now the couple say they want to be advocates, planning a 3,000-mile horse race across North Africa to draw attention to the cause of peace.

"It's about changing the ideas of the Western mind. A lot of people think Arabs -- especially the bin Ladens, especially the sons of Osama -- are all terrorists. This is not the truth," Omar told the AP last week at a cafe in a Cairo shopping mall.

Of course, many may have a hard time getting their mind around the idea of "bin Laden: peacenik."

"Omar thinks he can be a negotiator," said Alsabah, who is trying to bring her husband to Britain. "He's one of the only people who can do this in the world."

Omar lived with the al Qaeda leader in Sudan, then moved with him to Afghanistan in 1996.

There, Omar says he trained at an al Qaeda camp but in 2000 he decided there must be another way and he left his father, returning to his homeland of Saudi Arabia.

"I don't want to be in that situation to just fight. I like to find another way and this other way may be like we do now, talking," he said in English.

He suggested his father did not oppose his leaving -- and Alsabah interjected that Omar was courageous in breaking away, but neither elaborated.

Although there is no way to confirm the details he describes of his childhood and upbringing, the strong family resemblance and Omar's knowledge of Osama's family life have convinced many of his lineage.

"Omar bin Laden is the son of Osama bin Laden and his first wife, Najwa," a U.S. intelligence official said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. The official confirmed Omar was raised in Sudan and Afghanistan after his father was forced out of Saudi Arabia.

Omar and his wife insist they have not been bothered by Egyptian officials, who said Thursday that the terror leader's son did not pose a threat.

"He comes and goes just like any other tourist," said a security official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. "He is taking a line that is totally different from his father."

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Bin Laden's braided peacenik son on a mission - CNN.com

[Woodmonkey]

The cynic in me thinks this is a ploy of some kind and a way to associate something else with the name bin Ladin. I don't trust any of them.

[sabadgeman]

Now why do I also smell a rat Kate? I don't trust any of these so called peace bringers any more!