Like father unlike son: Osama's boy wants world peace

New Delhi: Osama Bin Laden's son Omar Osama Bin Laden wants to be a peace ambassador between the West and Muslims.

The 26-year-old, who came into the limelight last year when he married a 52-year-old British woman, says there is a better way of defending Islam than al-Qaeda militancy.

The Associated Press quoted Omar as saying that he's planning a 5,000-kilometre horse race across North Africa to advocate peace.

Following are the excerpts from the Associated Press story:

"It's about changing the ideas of the Western mind. A lot of people think Arabs - especially the bin Ladens, especially the sons of Osama - are allterrorists. This is not the truth," Omar said.

The 26-year-old, who bears a striking resemblance to his father, said he hadn't seen him since 2000, when he (Omar) left Afghanistan.

"He doesn't have email," Omar said. "He doesn't take a telephone ... if he had something like this, they will find him through satellites."

Omar said he cut himself off from violence when he realised there was a better way to achieve change.

"I don't want to be in that situation to just fight. I like to find another way and this other way may be like we do now, talking," he said in English.

Ms Alsabah, 52, said that despite his surname, her husband was in a rare position to do good.

"Omar thinks he can be a negotiator," said Ms Alsabah, who is applying for a visa to take her husband to Britain. "He's one of the only people who can do this in the world."

Omar, the fourth-eldest of Osama bin Laden's 19 children, lived with his father in Sudan, then moved with him to Afghanistan when Khartoum forced out the al-Qa'ida leader in 1996.

Confirming Omar's family connection yesterday, a US intelligence official said: "Omar bin Laden is the son of Osama bin Laden and his first wife, Najwa."

At least two of Osama bin Laden's sons, Hamza and Saad, are believed to have an active role in al-Qa'ida; but most of his children, like Omar, live as legitimate businessmen.

The family as a whole disowned Osama in 1994 when Saudi Arabia stripped him of his citizenship because of his militant activities.

Osama bin Laden's billionaire father, Mohammed, who died in 1967, had more than 50 children and founded the Binladen Group, a construction conglomerate that is given many major building contracts in the kingdom.

The couple hopes to start their horse race in March.

They admit they are still in the planning stages, seeking approval of governments along the route. They are also looking for sponsors to help pay for the event and raise money for child victims of war.

Omar said they planned to ride 50km a day, with week-long rests in each country.