# Osama Bin Laden's Children: do they even have a chance? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 5, 2001, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666 "2001-10-05T20:42:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/1 "2001-10-05T20:42:33Z")
I’m not going to make excuses for the man, nor say that his children are probably innocent-I know his eldest son is involved in the organization…BUT… I hear the man has ten kids so far. One of his daughters was married to Mullah Muhammed Omar, the Taliban member. One of his youngest was a boy of probably about seven, seen in Time magazine-THAT and the daughter marrying Omar made me cold. I guess I want to debate-do his children need to be punished, or helped? The YOunger ones I’m not talking about-you can’t punish anyone below the age of reason for his parents. But I keep thinking about the daughter forced to marry Omar-what must her life be like? It’s bad enough being a woman under the Taliban regime-imagine being MARRIED to one of those thugs! I guess I’m trying to say-what would it be like having Osama Bin Laden for a father? Would you even have a fucking chance? ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/2 "2001-10-05T21:20:59Z")
Why do you suppose that bin Laden’s daughter was forced to marry Omar? I haven’t read any indication of that. As to your overall question - of course the kids have a chance. Kids aren’t carbon copies of their parents - kids often rebel against their parents’ beliefs. I certainly know enough people whose parents are racist idiots. Their kids aren’t. Sua ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/3 "2001-10-05T21:25:43Z")
Australian media reported one of Bin Laden’s kids got married last weekend, and that the 10 year old son was mouthing off about how all Americans deserve to die. SuaSponte - you think a female child of Bin Laden would be given a choice in who she marries, when according to the rules of the Taliban, she’s not even allowed to speak loud enough for a stranger to hear her voice? Women are posessions in that country, and they marry who they’re told to marry. Bin Laden’s kids probably don’t have a chance, depending on where they live. If they live with or near their father, they don’t have a hope because he’s going to raise them to hate everything Western. If they live elsewhere, they may learn that their father is an extremist, and have more balanced views on the situation. ---
**Author:** ![tsunamisurfer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@tsunamisurfer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsunamisurfer)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/4 "2001-10-06T00:33:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cazzle \* > \*\*Australian media reported one of Bin Laden’s kids got married last weekend, and that the 10 year old son was mouthing off about how all Americans deserve to die. > > SuaSponte - you think a female child of Bin Laden would be given a choice in who she marries, when according to the rules of the Taliban, she’s not even allowed to speak loud enough for a stranger to hear her voice? Women are posessions in that country, and they marry who they’re told to marry. > > Bin Laden’s kids probably don’t have a chance, depending on where they live. If they live with or near their father, they don’t have a hope because he’s going to raise them to hate everything Western. If they live elsewhere, they may learn that their father is an extremist, and have more balanced views on the situation. \*\* Too bad George Orwell isn’t alive to witness the ascendance of the Taliban regime in general and Islamic fundamentalism in particular. My guess is that the wives of Taliban/other fundamentalist leaders exercise far more “rights” than their less privileged counterparts in society, and also probably talk back to their husbands in private far more than you might suspect. I’d also surmise that most are quite content with their positions of privilege. Bin Laden’s kids are a lost cause. IIRC, three of his older sons are part of his nutty movement. With good luck, they will be incinerated in the first attack. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/5 "2001-10-06T00:48:28Z")
Supposedly bin Laden’s family in the U.S. have issued a statement against his actions. He is not like his family that seems to enjoy living in the U.S. and that has reportedly donated to U.S. university(ies). I would hope that the children of Usama could think for themselves, but I don’t have much hope based on how fanatical bin Laden and associates are. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/6 "2001-10-06T00:54:27Z")
I think it is the other way around–bin Laden is the Mullah Omar’s son-in-law, having married one of Omar’s daughters. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/7 "2001-10-06T01:51:17Z")
I’m sorry-is it WRONG to feel sorry of the younger ones, and maybe his daughters-we all know what Osama’s views on women are like. And good lord, 10 years old and already an advocate of terrorism. Good god-what is WRONG with this world. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/8 "2001-10-06T06:38:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > And good lord, 10 years old and already an advocate of terrorism. I dunno, I suspect if you polled the ten-year-olds in the United states today, you’d find a good number who’d parrot their parents and think the best solution to terrorism is to bomb Afghanistan into a parking lot. And I’m sure you can find a fair number of Jewish kids who are convinced all Arabs want to destroy Israel and that it’s justify to destroy them first in self-defense. And don’t get me started on the"God hates fags" kids… ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/9 "2001-10-06T13:50:13Z")
Oh, I know that. I just think it’s really sad, these kids don’t even have a chance. I can only imagine what life is like for his wives and their daughters. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/10 "2001-10-06T19:15:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\*Oh, I know that. I just think it’s really sad, these kids don’t even have a chance. \*\* Well, I don’t know if they do or not. Like Rjung said, most 10 year olds parrot their parents. They tend not to start rebelling till puberty. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/11 "2001-10-06T19:59:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > I dunno, I suspect if you polled the ten-year-olds in the United states today, you’d find a good number who’d parrot their parents and think the best solution to terrorism is to bomb Afghanistan into a parking lot. I must disagree with the statement itself and the implication that there is a parallel in America. As a parent of a ten year old myself, I am well assured that North American kids are getting on with their life and childish concerns giving very little weight to the enormity or the reality of September 11. (Furthermore, although there is a hue and cry amongst the adult population for retribution towards the terrorists and the Taleban, I have not heard anyone call for indiscriminate carpet bombing) What I find incomprehensible about children, is how they are so evident in the front lines of the Intafada. Why are these 10 year olds allowed to be in harms way on the streets throwing rocks at soldiers? I’ve also seen a documentary showing young Islamic children being taught that America is evil. This is so alien to western culture and I can only regard the use of children as instruments of hate and war as symptomatic of a sick society ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2001, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/12 "2001-10-07T00:25:55Z")
Okay, and I wonder-let’s say they DO capture Bin Laden. Then what? His younger children-will they be killed in the war? Or should they be adopted? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2001, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/13 "2001-10-07T06:31:47Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by grienspace \* > \*\* > What I find incomprehensible about children, is how they are so evident in the front lines of the Intafada. Why are these 10 year olds allowed to be in harms way on the streets throwing rocks at soldiers?_\* It’s tactics. You put the little kids in the front line throwing rocks, and the adults behind them with guns, shooting over their heads. That way, the soldiers have to choose either to shoot, risking hitting the kids and causing an incident, or get shot at without shooting back. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2001, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/14 "2001-10-07T20:21:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > **And I’m sure you can find a fair number of Jewish kids who are convinced all Arabs want to destroy Israel and that it’s justify to destroy them first in self-defense.** Whoa! I’d really like a cite for that assertion. You’re assuming that there is some “fair number” of Jewish parents who are teaching their kids that we should kill all Arabs. I’m aware of NO Jews who are teaching this type of generalized race hatred. I’ve known hundreds of Jewish kids, and even during periods of war between Israel and her Arab neighbors, I don’t ever remember any of them advocating wholesale destruction of Arabs. Yeah, it’s neat to parallel “Jew-hating Arabs” and “Arab-hating Jews”, but it’s a completely false analogy. As The West Wing put it, "Terrorists are to Islam as **the KKK** is to Christianity. If you want to theorize that there are probably children of KKK members who would like to kill all Arabs (or all Jews), fine. But **don’t** equate Jewish children or their beliefs with terrorists in any way. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/15 "2001-10-08T19:14:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SpoilerVirgin \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > > **And I’m sure you can find a fair number of Jewish kids who are convinced all Arabs want to destroy Israel and that it’s justify to destroy them first in self-defense.** > > Whoa! I’d really like a cite for that assertion. You’re assuming that there is some “fair number” of Jewish parents who are teaching their kids that we should kill all Arabs.\*\* Sorry, perhaps my use of “fair number” was a bit misleading. Let me try again… 1. Suppose we poll all Jewish kids (under the age of 14, say) in the United States, and ask them for their opinion about Arabs, Israel, and Palestinians. Let’s assign this number the variable K. 2. Now, suppose we count the number of kids who think “all Arabs wanna destroy Israel, and we have to destroy them before they can hurt us.” Assign that number k. 3. Now, IMO, the _percentage_ of kids espousing this view (k/K) is probably less than 1% (0.01). On the other hand, the _number_ of kids espousing this view is probably greater than zero (k \> 0), and IMO fairly higher than that (k \> 100?). I am sure that most Jewish families are kind and peaceful, just as I am sure most Christian families are kind and peaceful. But we both know there are intolerant extremists in any faction, and _that_ is where I’m coming from, because I’m a cynical pessimist. Hope that helps, ---
**Author:** ![Wildest\_Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/16 "2001-10-08T19:29:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > And I’m sure you can find a fair number of Jewish kids who are convinced all Arabs want to destroy Israel and that it’s justify to destroy them first in self-defense. \*\* Maybe not the Arabs but what about the PLO. I mean Barak gave the ole ugly one (Arafat) everthing but the kitchen sink and the ugly one still turned it down. What I think he(and probably alot others) wants is the destruction of Israel. So you can’t blame Jewish kids from survival instincts. ---
**Author:** ![Wildest\_Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/17 "2001-10-08T19:35:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > And I’m sure you can find a fair number of Jewish kids who are convinced all Arabs want to destroy Israel and that it’s justify to destroy them first in self-defense. \*\* Maybe not the Arabs but what about the PLO. I mean Barak gave the ole ugly one (Arafat) everthing but the kitchen sink and the ugly one still turned it down. What I think he(and probably alot others) wants is the destruction of Israel. So you can’t blame Jewish kids from survival instincts. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/18 "2001-10-09T19:00:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wildest Bill \* > \*\*So you can’t blame Jewish kids from survival instincts. \*\* It’s still sponsoring terrorism in the minds of ten-year-olds. I’m sure there are lots of Palestinian kids who feel the same way about their Jewish counterparts. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/19 "2001-10-10T00:38:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > **It’s still sponsoring terrorism in the minds of ten-year-olds.** So explain to me again how we got from “a number of [Jewish] kids probably greater than zero” who may hate Arabs and want them destroyed to “sponsoring terrorism”. I say again: you have presented no evidence that there is even one Jewish child anywhere espousing terrorism against Arabs, nor have you presented any evidence that any Jews anywhere are sponsoring terrorism or teaching it to their children. I’m sure that if we poll _all_ kids under the age of 14 on any number of issues we could find a wide range of viewpoints, including some that are clearly bigoted, or badly reasoned, or morally questionable. But that does not mean that anyone or any particular religious or ethnic group is _sponsoring_ those beliefs. I say again, Jews do not support terrorism, nor do they teach terrorism to their children, and if you want to argue otherwise, I’d like to see you provide some evidence other than a thought-poll of imaginery children. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-ladens-children-do-they-even-have-a-chance/85666/20 "2001-10-10T05:27:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SpoilerVirgin \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > > **It’s still sponsoring terrorism in the minds of ten-year-olds.** > > So explain to me again how we got from “a number of [Jewish] kids probably greater than zero” who may hate Arabs and want them destroyed to “sponsoring terrorism”.\*\* By an official Jewish body? There ain’t any, and it was neveer my assertion as such. By individual families and bigoted parents? Sure. I _thought_ that was the point I was making, but apparently my cold is affecting my writing skills… > [@](#): > > **I’m sure that if we poll _all_ kids under the age of 14 on any number of issues we could find a wide range of viewpoints, including some that are clearly bigoted, or badly reasoned, or morally questionable. But that does not mean that anyone or any particular religious or ethnic group is _sponsoring_ those beliefs.** No disagreement from me here. I guess what I’m trying to say is that you can find kids of any background who hold stereotypical/racist/terrorist views towards some other group. Whether that feeling comes from an “official” position or simply a parental figure is besides my point; the fact that _some_ kids hold these views is creepy enough.