The youngest son of Osama bin Laden said he is ashamed and horrified by his father’s actions on Sept. 11, 2001.
“It was hard for me to believe that he had the ability to organize such a thing. That day changed our lives forever, and it was very hard to continue to live afterwards,” Omar bin Laden, 40, said in an interview last week with the Jewish News Syndicate.
He said he only felt “shame and horror” for his father’s actions.
The 40-year-old artist living in Normandy, France, said he was in line to take his father’s place as the leader of al Qaeda but could not.
FILE – This Jan. 11, 2008 file photo shows Omar bin Laden during an interview with the Associated Press in Cairo, Egypt. Two weeks ago, Omar, the son of Osama bin Laden, revealed that many of the children who had been with their father in Afghanistan escaped to Iran following the 2001 U.S.-led invasion, and were still together in a walled compound under Iranian guard. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File) ** zu unserem KORR ** Nasser Nasser/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“During these years of loss and pain, I was forced to come to terms with the truth about my father,” he said.
Bin Laden said he would also like the opportunity to visit Israel and the United States.
“I know that it’s a beautiful country, and many people in it want peace with the Palestinians,” he said regarding the former.
Omar bin Laden has Jewish heritage originating from Israel on his maternal side and has been offered opportunities to lecture about peace at universities in the nation, according to the interview.
“I know that since 1948, the Palestinians have been living alongside the Jewish nation,” he said. “We believe that the world needs to live as one and that neighbors from every religion can live alongside each other in peace.”
