Page 97 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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Bin Laden, Osama (1957– )———71

and found a supply of hidden weapons and evidence
of terrorist activity. Several of the residents, includ- BIN LADEN, OSAMA (1957– )
ing Berenson, were arrested for being alleged mem- aka bin Ladin, Shaykh Usoma bin Laden,
bers of the Marxist guerrilla organization, MRTA. the Emir, Abu Abdallah, Mujohid Shaykh, Haji,
The La Molina house was thought to be the MRTA the Director
headquarters where an attack on the Peruvian
Congress was being planned. Berenson is alleged to
have provided the layout of the Congressional build- Osama bin Laden is likely the most infamous
ing to the MRTA. On January 11, 1996, she was con- terrorist of today. Known among his cadres as “the
victed of treason by a panel of hooded judges in a prince” and “the emir,” bin Laden seeks to overturn
military tribunal for her participation in the plot. In the current world order and replace it with a world in
trials involving terrorists in Peru, the judges will veil which the Islamic world would have no borders. This
their identity because they fear reprisals from the Islamic polity, according to bin Laden, is to be ruled
supporting terrorist organization. by a caliph, and rise to hegemony. He also seeks to
The manner in which Berenson was convicted is encourage Muslim jihads around the world; end U.S.
very controversial. She was not allowed a jury or a military operations against Iraq; destroy the state of
personal statement, and her lawyer was not allowed to Israel; and overthrow secular, moderate regimes in
cross-examine any of the prosecution’s witnesses or the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
see their evidence. A trial that lasted only minutes To achieve these ends, bin Laden created a militant
found the 26-year-old sentenced to life in prison. With Islamic network called Al Qaeda.
her parents’ support, Berenson began the appeals
process. She continues to maintain her innocence,
claiming that she did not know her housemates were EARLY YEARS
involved in the MRTA, nor did she have any knowl- Bin Laden was born on March 10, 1957, in Riyadh,
edge of the activities that were taking place on the Saudi Arabia. He was the 17th son of 51 children
floors above her room. born to Mohammad bin Laden, a business mogul in
In March 2000, the Peruvian government agreed to Saudi Arabia. Mohammad bin Laden moved to Saudi
set aside the life sentence and to retry Berenson in a Arabia from neighboring Yemen in 1931 and founded
civilian court. However, the retrial convicted Berenson a construction company, the Bin Laden Group. In
of aiding the plot against the Congress by providing time, the company grew and began to do contract
the layout of the building, helping to secure weapons, work for the Saudi regime, building highways and
and renting her house to MRTA members. She was infrastructure, in addition to famous mosques in the
sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2001, five of holy cities of Mecca and Medina. When Mohammad
which she has already completed. bin Laden was killed in a helicopter crash in 1968, his
The debate over Berenson’s role in the MRTA and inheritance, worth billions of dollars, was divided
her innocence continues. Her parents have retired as among his children.
professors to devote their time to lobbying for her Osama bin Laden grew up a devout Muslim. He
release, and she has many support groups in the United received most of his formal schooling first in Mecca,
States that are also striving for her release. Berenson then in Jedda. He reportedly showed a solemn respect
has since begun another appeals process. for Muslim practices and learned much from reli-
gious visitors to the bin Laden home during the hajj
See also TUPAC AMARU REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT
(pilgrimage) season each year. As a young man of 17,
Further Reading he married his first of four wives, and went to study
public management at King Abd al-Aziz University
Berenson, Rhoda. Lori: My Daughter, Wrongfully Impri- in Jeddah between 1974 and 1978. While at the uni-
soned in Peru. New York: Context Books. Distributed by
Publishers Group West, 2000. versity, bin Laden was heavily influenced by one of
Committee to Free Lori Berenson. http://www.freelori.org/. his professors, Sheik Abdullah Azzam, a prominent
Levi, Jonathan, and Liz Mineo. “The Lori Berenson Papers.” radical Muslim. He was also said to have been influ-
The Nation, September 4 /11, 2000. http://past.thenation. enced by Mohammed Qutb, a renowned fundamen-
com/issue/000904/0904levi.shtml. talist thinker, and brother of the late Sayyid Qutb,