Relatives of Osama bin Laden, the Qaeda leader behind the September 11 terrorist attacks, have spoken out about the family's dark legacy. In an interview with The Guardian, they said extremism may still run in their family. They said bin Laden's youngest son, Hamza, had gone to Afghanistan to "avenge" his father. They have mostly tried to live quiet lives away from the spotlight, but their extremist son could force them to relive the horrors of having a terrorist in the family. Relatives of Osama bin Laden, the Qaeda leader behind the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, spoke out in an interview with The Guardian published Friday about their family's dark legacy — and they suggested that the family's involvement with terrorism hadn't ended with bin Laden's 2011 death. Living sheltered lives as a prominent but controversial family in their native Saudi Arabia, several of the family members opened up about bin Laden's childhood and his eventual transformation into one of the most notorious figures in recent history. But while bin Laden's career as a terrorist and head of Al Qaeda came to an end at the hands of US Navy SEALs in a midnight raid on his hideout in Pakistan, his militancy seems to have taken root in his youngest child. Bin Laden's family believes his youngest son, Hamza, has followed in his father's footsteps by traveling to Afghanistan, where the US, Afghanistan's national army, and NATO have been locked in a brutal war with Islamic militants since shortly after the Twin Towers were destroyed. Hamza, officially designated a terrorist by the US, apparently took his family by surprise with an endorsement of militant Islam. "We thought everyone was over this," Hassan bin Laden, an uncle of Hamza, told The Guardian. "Then the next thing I knew, Hamza was saying, 'I am going to avenge my father.' I don't want to go through that again. If Hamza was in front of me now, I would tell him: 'God guide you. Think twice about what you are doing. Don't retake the steps of your father. You are entering horrible parts of your soul.'" After the September 11 attacks, some members of bin Laden's family remained in touch while others led a quiet life under the supervision of the Saudi government and international intelligence agencies. Many of the bin Ladens have sought to put their history behind them by avoiding media and politics, but Hamza's apparent support of his father's ideas suggests Osama bin Laden's embracing of terrorism may have come back to haunt them.<doc-sep>Osama bin Laden's mother, Alia Ghanem, spoke out for the first time this week about her son's life and radicalization 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 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-Qaida's decades of fanaticism. Chulov spoke with bin Laden's mother and siblings, as well as Saudi officials, to piece together his life. USA TODAY breaks down the most shocking revelations from the interview: 1. 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. 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." 2. Bin Laden's college years brought radicalization 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." Chulov 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?" 3. Not everyone in the family is convinced though Bin Laden's brothers are less convinced that his college years are to blame for his radicalization. "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." 4. Family and friends tried to stop bin Laden's rise to power Chulov also sat down with Saudi Arabian Prince Turki al-Faisal, who said the political turmoil surrounding the end of the Soviet occupation was a catalyst for bin Laden's beliefs. "There are two Osama bin Ladens," al-Faisal said. "One before the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and one after it." Al-Faisal described how bin Laden was an idealist prior to the end of the occupation, not an advocate for global terrorism. However, al-Faisal said bin Laden was a changed man when he met with bin Laden in the early 1990s. "He had a poker face," al-Faisal said. "He never grimaced, or smiled." Bin Laden's family also repeatedly tried to reach out to him during this time, visiting him and sending messages via emissaries, according to al-Faisal. 5. Bin Laden's family is concerned about Osama's son – and so is the world Hamza bin Laden, 29, is thought to be in Afghanistan now, though the bin Laden family is unsure. Last year, he was designated a "global terrorist" by the United States and is working under al-Qaida's new leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri. "We thought everyone was over this," Hassan said, "Then the next thing I knew, Hamza was saying, 'I am going to avenge my father.'" Hassan said the family hopes Hamza returns home, allowing the family to move forward. "I don’t want to go through that again," Hassan said. "If Hamza was in front of me now, I would tell him, 'God guide you. Think twice about what you are doing. Don’t retake the steps of your father. You are entering horrible parts of your soul.'"<doc-sep>Osama Bin Laden's brother has urged the former Al-Qaeda leader's son Hamza not to follow in his infamous father's foot steps. Hamza, 29, is widely seen as a possible successor to Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian ideologue who took over Al-Qaeda after US special forces killed Osama Bin Laden in a 2011 raid in Pakistan. After vowing to avenge his father, he has been put in charge of a highly trained group of the terrorist organisation's fighters in Afghanistan, Western officials told the The Telegraph. In a letter to his mother leaked in the media, Hamza said his 12-year-old son died a "martyr," suggesting he was killed in an airstrike or in fighting. "We thought everyone was over this," said Hamza's uncle Hassan Bin Laden in an interview with the Guardian, referring to Osama bin Laden. "Then the next thing I knew, Hamza was saying 'I'm going to avenge my father'... If Hamza was in front of me now I would tell him 'God guide you. Think twice about what you are doing. Don't retake the steps of your father. You are entering horrible parts of your soul." Osama bin Laden's mother, Alia Ghanem, insisted that the Saudi-born terrorist behind the 2001 World Trade Centre and Pentagon attacks had been a good man until he was "brainwashed" in university by ideologues.<doc-sep>
Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m. on September 11, 2001. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images Osama Bin Laden's brother has urged the former al-Qa'ida leader's son Hamza not to follow in his infamous father's foot steps. Hamza (29) is widely seen as a possible successor to Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian ideologue who took over al-Qa'ida after US special forces killed Osama Bin Laden in a 2011 raid in Pakistan. After vowing to avenge his father, he has been put in charge of a highly trained group of the terrorist organisation's fighters in Afghanistan, western officials said. In a letter to his mother leaked in the media, Hamza said his 12-year-old son died a "martyr", suggesting he was killed in an air strike or in fighting. "We thought everyone was over this," said Hamza's uncle Hassan Bin Laden in an interview with 'The Guardian', referring to Osama bin Laden. Expand Close Osama Bin Laden masterminded the Twin Towers attack in 2001 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Osama Bin Laden masterminded the Twin Towers attack in 2001 "Then the next thing I knew, Hamza was saying 'I'm going to avenge my father' ... If Hamza was in front of me now I would tell him, God guide you. Think twice about what you are doing. Don't retake the steps of your father. You are entering horrible parts of your soul." Osama bin Laden's mother, Alia Ghanem, insisted the Saudi-born terrorist behind the 2001 World Trade Centre and Pentagon attacks had been a good man until he was "brainwashed" in university by ideologues. "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," she said. Al-Qa'ida has never completely recovered from the death of Osama Bin Laden. His successor, Zawahiri, was seen as less charismatic and over the past few years many jihadists abandoned the group to join Isil. With Isil suffering heavy losses in Syria and Iraq, al-Qa'ida now hopes to woo jihadists back to its fold and Hamza is seen as key to that effort. He has released several audio speeches, including one in 2016 in which he vowed to avenge his father's death. He has also called for attacks on Jews and westerners in an attempt to keep his organisation relevant to jihadists attracted to Isil. Isil had split from al-Qa'ida and declared its leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi "caliph" of the territories it seized across Syria and Iraq in 2014, attracting thousands of jihadists to its ranks. It also fought al-Qa'ida's affiliate in Syria and Yemen. It has since lost most of its territory in Iraq and Syria and many of its members have been killed or captured. (© Daily Telegraph London) Irish Independent