World Geography
Terrorism & the Middle East Part III:
The History of Osama bin Laden & al-Qaeda
Osama bin Laden was born in 1957 into an extremely wealthy family in Saudi Arabia. He was
the seventeenth son of his father’s fifty-two children. His father moved to Saudi Arabia in 1931 and
founded the Bin Laden Group, a construction company. Using money from its newfound oil
industry, the Saudi royal family hired the Bin Laden Group to build up the countries infrastructure.
The Bin Laden Group constructed massive highways throughout the country. The royal family also
paid the Bin Laden Group to construct elegant palaces and important mosques (places of worship for
Muslims). On his thirteenth birthday, Osama bin Laden inherited 80 million dollars from his father.
He invested that money and expanded it into a 280 million dollar fortune.
Osama bin Laden was raised in a strict Islamic family. It is reported that he was very well
educated. Bin Laden obtained a civil engineering degree from King Abdul-Aziz University in Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia. Abdullah Azzam, one of bin Laden’s professors, had a strong influence on his future.
Azzam taught bin Laden about Islamic extremism and helped to form bin Laden’s belief that the
Islamic religion would one day dominate the entire world.
Osama bin Laden v. the Soviet Union…
In 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and attempted
to make it a communist country. In Afghanistan, like most Middle
Eastern countries, a vast majority of the citizens are Muslim. Muslims
throughout the world viewed the Soviet invasion as an attack against
the Islamic religion. After graduating from college, bin Laden left the
Saudi Arabia and travelled to Afghanistan to help them in their war
against the Soviets. Osama bin Laden brought money and soldiers
with him to help aid the Afghans. He spent the next five years raising
bin Laden & the C.I.A.
money and bringing attention to the struggle of the Afghan people.
Osama bin Laden was not the only outsider who wanted to help the
Afghans; the United States had also been supplying the Afghans with money and weapons. The
Afghans and bin Laden accepted the America aid, knowing that the U.S. was helping only because the
Soviet Union was an enemy of the United States.
The War Hero…
In 1989 the Soviet Union withdrew its troops from Afghanistan, marking a victory for the
Muslims there. Osama bin Laden in moved back to Saudi Arabia in 1990. His time in Afghanistan had
only intensified his radical Islamic beliefs. Word of his accomplishments spread throughout the
Middle East and he was becoming known as a war hero. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the Saudi
royal family feared that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would invade Saudi Arabia too. Osama bin
Laden, a citizen of Saudi Arabia and a recognized war hero, offered his assistance to the royal family.
He was strongly opposed to allowing foreigners (especially the United States) come to Saudi Arabia.
He believed that allowing U.S. forces into Saudi Arabia would corrupt their religion and result in the
spread of Western culture. Bin Laden could not imagine allowing Christian, Jewish and female soldiers
onto their holy land. He believed it was sacrilegious and unnecessary (given his victory over the
Soviets in Afghanistan).
The Formation of al-Qaeda…
The Saudi government appreciated the bin Laden’s offer, but they felt that the United States
was better equipped to protect them from an Iraqi invasion. Osama Bin Laden was furious. He began
to encourage Saudis to rebel against the government. In 1991, he was banished from the country and
three years later his citizenship was revoked. Bin Laden blamed both the Saudi royal family and the
United States for the disgrace. Bin Laden moved to Sudan where he began to build up a terrorist
organization that would become known as al-Qaeda. He recruited militant Muslims from all over the
world. He used al-Qaeda to spread his message of hatred and to carry out terrorist attacks against the
United States & other Western countries. In 1996 the Taliban, a religious group that shared bin
Laden’s beliefs, took control of Afghanistan’s government. That same year, bin Laden moved the
headquarters of al-Qaeda to Afghanistan.
Over the years al-Qaeda has grown. It is now and international terrorist network led and
funded mainly by Osama bin Laden. Al-Qaeda has terrorist cells (small groups of terrorists) in at
least 55 countries around the world (though that number is now probably much greater). These cells
operate secretly within each country. The following is a list of al-Qaeda’s beliefs and objectives:
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They oppose all nations and institutions not governed in a manner consistent with the group’s
extremist Islamic beliefs. They believe that all nations should be governed by Islamic extremists. They
believe all non-Islamic governments should be overthrown by force.
They opposed the presence of the American military in the Middle East, especially on the Arabian
Peninsula
They view the United States and all Americans as enemies
In 1998 bin Laden issued a fatwah (religious ruling) stating that Muslims should kill Americans,
including civilians, anywhere that they can be found in the world
Since September 11th, 2001 most Americans have become much more familiar with al-Qaeda,
however this was not the first time that the organization attacked the United States. Since its
formation, al-Qaeda has attacked the United States on a number of different occasions. In February
of 1993, they detonated a bomb in the basement parking garage of the World Trade Centers in New
York City, resulting in the deaths of 6 Americans. In October of 1993, 18 American soldiers were
killed by al-Qaeda terrorists in Somalia (Africa). In November 1995, a car bomb in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia killed 5 Americans. In June 1996 al-Qaeda attacked an U.S. Air Force base in Saudi Arabia,
killing 19 Americans. In November 1997, four American oil workers
were killed by al-Qaeda in Pakistan. In August of 1998, two American
Embassies (one in Kenya, one in Tanzania) were attacked, resulting in
over 5,000 people being wounded. In December of 1999, an al-Qaeda
operative was arrested as he tried to cross the Canadian border into the
U.S. He was carrying a large quantity of explosives. In October of
2000, an American Naval ship, the U.S.S. Cole, was bombed while in a
harbor in Yemen, killing 17 Americans and wounding 39 others. While
September 11th, 2001 may have been the largest attack against the
United States, it was by no means the first time that al-Qaeda targeted
our country.
Name:
Date:
Core:
World Geography
Terrorism & the Middle East Part III:
Reader Response Questions
Directions: Use the reading from today’s class (Terrorism & the Middle East III: The History of Osama
bin Laden & al-Qaeda) to answer the following questions.
Fact Check…
1. In what country was Osama bin Laden born? _____________________________________
2. True or False. Osama bin Laden grew up in an impoverished family.
I think this statement is ________________ (true or false) because in the text it says: _______
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3. Which of the following is probably an example of a country’s infrastructure?
a. governments
c. lakes
b. road ways
d. forests
4. To which country did bin Laden travel in 1979? _______________________________________
5. Why did he go there? ____________________________________________________________
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6. True or False. At one time, the United States and Osama bin Laden were allies, not enemies.
I think this statement is ________________ (true or false) because in the text it says: _______
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
7. What is a terrorist cell? ___________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
8. Who are the Taliban? ____________________________________________________________
Reader Response. Answer the following question in complete sentences using the text to support
your response (ATITIC).
1. Why does Osama bin Laden dislike the United States of America (provide at least two reasons
in your response)?
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4
3
2
1
Exemplary
Proficient
Progressing
Beginning
Insightful, well
organized, and fluent
Deep understanding of
text is demonstrated
Specific references to
text are used to support
ideas
Text references are well
interpreted and clearly
connected to response
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Thoughtful, organized,
and fluent
Clear understanding of
the text is demonstrated
Relevant references to
text are used to support
ideas
Text references are
explained and connected
to response
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Organized and
somewhat fluent
Basic understanding of
text is displayed
At least one relevant
example from text is
used to support ideas
Text references are
somewhat connected to
response
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Disorganized or confusing
Limited or no
understanding of text is
displayed
Limited or no examples
from text are used to
support ideas
Text reference seems
irrelevant to response