Osama’s son wants to be ambassador of peace

The 26-year-old does not renounce his father, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, but in an interview with The Associated Press, he said there is better way to defend Islam than militancy: Omar wants to be an “ambassador for peace” between Muslims and the West.

Omar — one of bin Laden’s 19 children — raised a tabloid storm last year when he married a 52-year-old British woman, Jane Felix-Browne, who took the name Zaina Alsabah. Now the couple say they want to be advocates, planning a 4,825-km horse race across North Africa to draw attention to the cause of peace.

“It’s about changing the ideas of the Western mind. A lot of people think Arabs - especially the bin Ladens, especially the sons of Osama —are all terrorists. This is not the truth,” Omar told AP last week in Cairo.

“Omar thinks he can be a negotiator,” said Alsabah, who is trying to bring her husband to Britain.

“I don’t want to be in that situation to just fight. I like to find another way and this other way may be like we do now, talking,” he said.

He suggested his father did not oppose his leaving — and Alsabah interjected that Omar was courageous in breaking away, but neither elaborated. Although there is no way to confirm the details he describes of his childhood and upbringing, the strong family resemblance and Omar’s knowledge of Osama’s family life have convinced many of his lineage.

“Omar is the son of Osama bin Laden and his first wife, Najwa,” a US intelligence official said. The official confirmed Omar was raised in Sudan and Afghanistan after his father was forced out of Saudi Arabia.

Omar and his wife say they have not been bothered by Egyptian officials, who said on Thursday that Omar did not pose a threat.

Omar said he hasn’t seen or been in contact with his father since leaving Afghanistan. “He doesn’t have an e-mail,” Omar said. “He doesn’t take a telephone... if he had something like this, they will find him through satellites.”

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