Residing with his wife in the French Normandy, 41-years old Omar bin Laden appeared in a rare TV interview by the Dubai-based Al Aan TV, opening up about his memories in Afghanistan and his current lifestyle as a painter in France.
'Baby Bin Laden': The Terrorist's Daughter Takes on Social Media and Strongly Bashes TrollsThe interview introduced Omar bin Laden, the fourth-eldest son of the former leader of Al Qaeda Osama bin Laden, as a painter, highlighting the link between his artworks and his past memories from the times he spent with his father in Afghanistan.
Omar bin Laden and his wife Zeina - Source: Akhbar Al Aan
Starting with paintings featuring a number of mountain series, Omar bin Laden said they represented the mountains of Tora Bora to the east of Afghanistan, where he spent almost a year, saying they were extremely deep mountains where he sometimes felt very serene while felt isolated and lonely at other times.
Omar bin Laden also remembered the last days of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, saying it was full of heavy shelling and the killing of many people, both fighters and innocent people.
Justifying a red and black painting of mountains, Omar bin Laden said he was influenced by the "bloody situation" of those times. Omar also noted that red for him represents the pain, the blood, and the suffering, while black pointed to the darkness, the distress, and the highest of these mountains compared to the deep valleys around.
The interview highlights that while Omar bin Laden does not follow news of Al Qaeda, he decided to keep his family name despite everything it has been linked to, due to his father's leading role in the terror group.
Source: Akhbar Al Aan
Omar added that his family name represents two opposites at once, that it adds a historic value to his paintings, pointing to how paintings by the former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were sold for millions of dollars just because they were his work.
His wife, Zeina, then added that his name has been "magnetic", drawing the attention of potential buyers of his artwork "not only for its artistic value but also out of a belief it is a good future investment".
Moreover, Omar bin Laden said he was "happy to keep his roots", saying his family, originates from Yemen's Hadhramaut and is deeply rooted in Arab history being part of the Kindah Arab Kingdom that ruled parts of Arabia up to Syria's Damascus between 450 - 550 CE.
Omar bin Laden is married to Zeina Al Sabah, a British woman whose name before marrying him was Jane Felix-Browne and they both are trying to assimilate into the French community by learning the language. They are also planning to start a restaurant as a future business besides their art exhibition.
