When I read reports which said that the late Osama Bin Laden, a Yemeni-born Saudi billionaire, left behind three widows and 18 children, I wondered how al-Qaeda's leader managed to cope. How was he able to divide his time between his wives and many children on one hand and his militants on the other, as they discussed their next move in his global holy war? I also wondered whether Bin Laden was a devoted father, who took an interest in his children's progress at school and discussed their reports with their teachers, escorting them (before the 11/9 attacks) to shopping centres to buy them new clothes. Would Bin Laden abandon his militants outside his bedroom and glide gracefully inside to discuss with his wives the future of his children? I doubt that Bin Laden was an unkind father; I also doubt that he was a devoted leader of a militant organisation, irrespective of its objectives. Bin Laden created Al-Qaeda to allegedly wage a holy war against the West and its interests and people in Muslim communities. Al-Qaeda's horrendous terrorist attacks on innocent civilians, irrespective of their faith, should confirm my theory that Bin Laden's big family and big organisation both had to make big sacrifices. More tragically, although his militant organisation's unwritten charter declares that al-Qaeda's targets are limited to the non-Muslim West, the Muslim victims of his holy war largely outnumber the alleged infidels belonging to the US and other Western countries who have died. While about 3,000 Americans and others were killed in the 11/9 attacks in New York, hundreds of thousands of Muslims, including Bin Laden's loyal militants, have been killed by the US-led Western troops. Worse, Bin Laden's alleged holy war has cost the Muslim world two countries – Iraq and Afghanistan – which have been devastated by incessant air and ground attacks over the past decade. Like in Afghanistan, the large-scale destruction in Iraq gives one the impression that the clock in this Arab country stopped ticking some time back in the Middle Ages. Osama Bin Laden contributed to the tragedy in Iraq and Afghanistan, in which millions of Iraqis and Afghanis have been killed or made homeless. Divided between his three big families and his mushrooming organisation, he never had time to listen to wise, sincere warnings that his ‘holy war' was counterproductive: the image of Islam was tainted in the West and Muslims there were branded as terrorists or as sympathisers and financiers of Bin Laden's terrorist ambitions. The attacks on Muslims overseas increased after the 11/9 attacks in New York and a series of bombings in London, Madrid and Nairobi. Nor have innocent civilians in different Arab countries (such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Yemen and Morocco) been immune from al-Qaeda's misplaced wrath. Outraged by the support US was giving to dictators in Arab region, Bin Laden decided to export his al-Qaeda militants to these countries. He also formed a formidable alliance with militant groups, such as Al-Jihad in Egypt. As a result, hundreds of innocent people were killed during attacks planned by local militant groups in collaboration with al-Qaeda. Washington should not believe that its insensitive decision to dump the body of Bin Laden at sea marks the final page in this man's story and religious campaign. Although the death of Osama Bin Laden will deny al-Qaeda huge financial support, things won't be as easy as Washington probably thinks. Like the Tom and Jerry cartoons, the tragic death of al-Qaeda's leader will inspire CIA's strategists to think up a sequel, with the Muslim Salafists (diehard fundamentalists with an irreconcilable understanding of Islam) cast as Jerry, who will be getting up to his tricks as usual. Tom will focus on the Muslim radical ideology initiated by these Salafis, who are now running riot across different Arab countries, including Egypt, as a result of the recent national uprisings.
