

Osama bin Laden's mother, Alia Ghanem, spoke out for the first time this week about her son's life and radicalisation in a bombshell interview with The Guardian.

Ghanem, who lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with her husband of more than 50 years and two of bin Laden's brothers in one of the most lavish homes in the country, sat down with journalist Martin Chulov to discuss bin Laden's childhood and how he became the most famous terrorist in the world, responsible for the 9/11 attacks and others across the world.

The interview covers more than 50 years of the extremist's life, and bin Laden's family and friends blame everything from global political forces to bin Laden's own character for the former leader of al-Qaeda's decades of fanaticism. Chulov spoke with bin Laden's mother and siblings, as well as Saudi officials, to piece together his life.

AP Before he was killed ... an undated file photo of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Bin Laden's family remembers a loving, passionate young man. Ghanem called bin Laden, her first born son, "shy," and "academically capable" as a child.

"He was a very good kid and he loved me so much," Ghanem told the newspaper.

My son, Osama: the al-Qaida leader’s mother speaks for the first time https://t.co/9Spahp8IWi — The Guardian (@guardian) August 3, 2018

Bin Laden became interested in politics and leadership in his early twenties, but his first foray into revolution was helping Afghanistan fight the Russian occupation in the 1980s, according to Ghanem.

"Everyone who met him in the early days respected him," bin Laden's brother Hassan said. "At the start, we were very proud of him. Even the Saudi government would treat him in a very noble, respectful way."

The family said Bin Laden's college years brought radicalisation into the family's life.

Bin Laden studied economics at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah as a young man, and Ghanem points to his time as a student as the source of his extremism.

"He was a very good child until he met some people who pretty much brainwashed him in his early 20s. You can call it a cult," Ghanem said. "I would always tell him to stay away from them, and he would never admit to me what he was doing, because he loved me so much."

The Guardian points to Abdullah Azzam as one of the biggest influences on bin Laden. A member of the violent, traditionalist group the Muslim brotherhood, he would go on to become bin Laden's spiritual adviser after being exiled from Saudi Arabia.

"We were extremely upset," Ghanem said. "I did not want any of this to happen. Why would he throw it all away like that?"

Not everyone in the family is convinced though.

Bin Laden's brothers are less convinced that his college years are to blame for his radicalisation.

"It has been 17 years now (since 9/11) and she remains in denial about Osama," bin Laden's brother Ahmad said.

"She loved him so much and refuses to blame him. Instead, she blames those around him. She only knows the good boy side, the side we all saw. She never got to know the jihadist side."

The last time the family saw bin Laden was 1999, when they visited him at a base outside Kandahar, Afghanistan. Ahmad said when 9/11 arrived, they all knew bin Laden had been involved even though they didn't have contact leading up to the tragic day.

"I was shocked, stunned," Ahmad said."It was a very strange feeling. We knew from the beginning (that it was Osama), within the first 48 hours. From the youngest to the eldest, we all felt ashamed of him."

Family and friends tried to stop bin Laden's rise to power.

- USA Today