Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia finally approved the request of Martin Chulov, a journalist from The Guardian, who sought to interview Alia Ghanem, mother of Osama bin Laden, the most notorious terrorist of modern times.
Sitting between two half-brothers of Osama, Ghanem describes her great son as shy, but intelligent academically. He became a strong, stimulating figure in the twenties, she says as he studied economics at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, where he was radicalized.
"People at the university changed it," says Ghanem. "He became another man. He was a good guy until he met some people who had rinsed his brain when he was in his twenties. You can call it a cult. They paid for their cause. I always told them to stay away from these men and he would never tell me the things they did because they loved me a lot. "
In the early 1980s, Osama traveled to Afghanistan to fight the Russian invasion. "Anyone who belonged to him then respected," says Hassan, one of Osama's brothers. "At first, we were very proud. Even the Saudi government treated it with nobility, with respect. Then came Osama, Mujahideen. "
After a long silence, Hassan says "I am very proud of her, for she is my great brother. He taught me a lot. But I'm not very proud of her as a man. It became famous all over the world and went all the way. "
Did Ghanem ever doubt that his son would become a jihadist? "Never." How did he feel when he learned? "Extremely upset. We did not want this to happen. How did he throw everything down like that? "
Osama's brothers emphasize that a mother is the most subjective witness. "It has been 17 years since the September 11 attack on the Twin Towers and it still denies it," Ahmad, the other brother, says. "He loved him so much that he refuses to blame him. Blames them around him. You only know the good side, the side we all know. He never knew the jihadist side. "
Osama's sister, who lives in Paris, contacted the family through email and rejected Ghanem's interview. According to her, her mother was pressured to speak and the whole meeting had to be reorganized through her.
As for Osama's son, 29-year-old Hamza, he was declared a "world terrorist" by the United States and seems to have taken his father's place.
"We thought it ended," says Hassan. "Then from nothing, Hamza says he will take revenge on his father. I do not want to experience the same thing twice. If Hamza was here, I would now tell him to guide the Lord. Think twice what you are doing. Do not walk in the first steps. You are entering into the dark parts of the soul. "
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