Hamida al-Attas
Encyclopedia
Hamida al-Attas born Alia Ghanem , is the mother of Osama bin Laden
. She came from a Sunni Syrian
family of two brothers and another sister, although it has been rumoured that her family are Alawites. She married Mohammed bin Laden
in Latakia
in 1956 and moved to Saudi Arabia
with her husband. She was the tenth wife of Mohammed bin Laden. (Her husband had at least 22 wives but divorced many, having only four wives at once, in accordance with Muslim law.) It has been reported that she was a concubine rather than wife of Mohammed bin Laden. She was more cosmopolitan than Mohammed's first three Wahhabi Saudi wives.
Osama bin Laden was her only child with Mohammad bin Laden. She often spent summers at her brother Naji's home in Latakia
and Osama went with her until he was 17. In 1974, when Osama was 18, he married her brother's daughter, 14-year-old Najwa Ghanem
, who had been promised to him.
Hamida later married Mohammed al-Attas and had 4 other children, including Ahmad Mohammed.
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
. She came from a Sunni Syrian
Demographics of Syria
Syrians today are an overall indigenous Levantine people. While modern-day Syrians are commonly described as Arabs by virtue of their modern-day language and bonds to Arab culture and history...
family of two brothers and another sister, although it has been rumoured that her family are Alawites. She married Mohammed bin Laden
Mohammed bin Laden
Sheikh Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was a wealthy investor, businessman, and patriarch of the bin Laden family. He was a Yemeni emmigrant to Saudi Arabia, and married 22 times, fathering at least 54 children...
in Latakia
Latakia
Latakia, or Latakiyah , is the principal port city of Syria, as well as the capital of the Latakia Governorate. In addition to serving as a port, the city is a manufacturing center for surrounding agricultural towns and villages...
in 1956 and moved to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
with her husband. She was the tenth wife of Mohammed bin Laden. (Her husband had at least 22 wives but divorced many, having only four wives at once, in accordance with Muslim law.) It has been reported that she was a concubine rather than wife of Mohammed bin Laden. She was more cosmopolitan than Mohammed's first three Wahhabi Saudi wives.
Osama bin Laden was her only child with Mohammad bin Laden. She often spent summers at her brother Naji's home in Latakia
Latakia
Latakia, or Latakiyah , is the principal port city of Syria, as well as the capital of the Latakia Governorate. In addition to serving as a port, the city is a manufacturing center for surrounding agricultural towns and villages...
and Osama went with her until he was 17. In 1974, when Osama was 18, he married her brother's daughter, 14-year-old Najwa Ghanem
Najwa Ghanem
Najwa bin Laden , née Ghanem, is a Syrian woman who was the first wife and first cousin of Osama bin Laden. Her father is the brother of Osama's mother, Hamida al-Attas . Najwa was "promised" in marriage to Osama. She is the mother of Saad bin Laden, as well as at least 10 more children...
, who had been promised to him.
Hamida later married Mohammed al-Attas and had 4 other children, including Ahmad Mohammed.