Carmen bin Laden
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Carmen bin Ladin | |
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| Born | Carmen Dufour 1954 (age 69–70) |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Occupation | Author |
| Spouse | Yeslam bin Ladin(divorced) |
| Children | 3 |
Carmen bin Ladin(néeDufour;born 1954) is a Swiss author. She was a member of thebin Ladin family,having entered the family by marriage toYeslam bin Ladin,a son of the patriarchMuhammad bin Ladin;they have since divorced.
Biography
[edit]Early life
[edit]Carmen Dufour was born in 1954 inLausanne,Switzerland.Her father wasSwiss(Dufour) and her mother wasPersian(Mirdokht-Sheybani). She was raised in Lausanne by her mother along with three other sisters (Salomé, Béatrice, and Magnolia).
Adult life
[edit]From 1974 to 1988, she was married toYeslam bin Ladin,an older half-brother ofOsama bin Ladin.They were married in 1974 inJeddah,Saudi Arabia.They had three daughters,Wafah Dufour,Najia and Noor.
In 2004, she publishedInside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia,a personal account of her life as aSaudi Arabianwife and mother. The book contains insights into life in the bin Ladin family and her relationship with them and her former husband. She claims that no matter howwesternizedher ex-husband or other bin Ladin family members may be, they still feel strong familial and religious ties, and would have financially supported and shelteredOsama bin Ladinif necessary, prior to his May 2011 death. She admits that while she found it difficult to adjust to the restrictiveSaudi Arabiansociety, her lifestyle was one of privilege.
She later moved toGenevawith her then husband and three children, and finally left her husband in 1988, asking for a divorce in 1994. She alleges that her ex-husband engaged in emotional blackmail including threatening to kidnap her children, adultery, and forced her to undergo anabortion.She finally obtained a divorce 12 years later in January 2006.[citation needed]Yeslam bin Ladinis reportedly uninvolved and uninterested in the lives of his former wife and daughters. He is quoted in Carmen Dufour's book as saying that he wished he had sons and not daughters. Yeslam has obtained aSwiss passportsupposedly for the purpose of pursuing a relationship with his children.
In her book, she writes that she had only seen Osama bin Ladin on two occasions and that they did not really speak. She emphasizes that thebin Ladin familyis a large one, and not all family members are directly associated with Osama bin Ladin.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- Bin Ladin, Carmen.Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia.Warner Books: New York, 2004.ISBN0-446-57708-1
External links
[edit]| International | |
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