Najwa Ghanem (; born 1958) is a

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n woman who was the first wife and first cousin of

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...

, being the daughter of his mother's brother. She is also known as '' Umm Abdallah'' (mother of Abdallah).

Biography

Najwa was born to Ibrahim and Nabeeha in

Latakia Latakia (; ; Syrian Arabic, Syrian pronunciation: ) is the principal port city of Syria and capital city of the Latakia Governorate located on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it has also been known as Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad Mar ...

United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 to 1971. It was initially a short-lived political union between Republic of Egypt (1953–1958), Egypt (including Occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Ara ...

(present-day

), and her family was originally from

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. She had five siblings. Osama married Najwa in 1974 when she was almost 16 in Latakia. She travelled with him to

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. According to Abu Jandal, she left Afghanistan before the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

and did not return. According to Najwa and her son Omar bin Laden, desiring to return to a normal life, she left Afghanistan sometime between September 7 and 9, 2001. In 2005, Huthaifa Azzam, son of Abdullah Azzam, stated that she was living in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

with her son Abdel Rahman. From about April 2012, she moved to Qatar, where seven of her surviving children also continued to reside.

Family

She is the mother of 11 children, including, in order of birth, Abdallah, Abdul Rahman, Saad, Omar, Osman, Mohammed, Fatima, Iman, Ladin, Ruqaiya and Nour. She co-authored '' Growing Up bin Laden'' with Omar. Her daughter Iman who was released by

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

in 2010 went to live with her in Syria. According to a close family member in 2011, Najwa's mother died of shock and grief after hearing of her son-in-law's death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghanem, Najwa Bin Laden family 1950s births Living people 20th-century Syrian women Year of birth missing (living people)

Biography

Family

See also

References