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Osama bin Laden's American-Born Niece Sparks Outrage With Some Families of 9-11 Victims |
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Written by Staff
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Tuesday, 21 March 2006 |
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Following the news earlier this month that Osama bin Laden's niece was shopping the U.S. TV network circuit to promote a reality show based on her quest for stardom, the September 11th Families Association is speaking out and calling the proposed show 'an absolute disgrace'.
Twenty-seven year old Wafah Dufour who was born Wafah bin Ladin, dropped her legal surname and adopted the maiden name of her mother, Swiss-born Carmen Dufour (bin Ladin) who was married to Osama's half-brother. Even though Wafah spent part of her childhood in Saudi Arabia, she states that she has never met her uncle, the infamous leader of the al-Qaida terrorist network.
In an interview with a UK-based newspaper last year, the aspiring songstress said, "We are estranged from [my father's] entire family since I'm 10. I'm carrying a burden that has nothing to do with me. I never met Osama. Never even saw him. My [grandfather] had 22 wives. I have 53 uncles and aunts, 300 cousins. It's way over 400 people. Tons I've never even met. The Bin Ladin family is a village."
Dufour who graduated Columbia University's prestigious law school in 2001, was visiting her mother in Geneva when news of the September 11 attacks on New York city shocked the world. She considered New York city to be her home and maintained an apartment in the city's downtown area. She spoke of several of her close friends who were employed at the World Trade Centre and she was devastated upon learning that they had been killed. It was her mother who advised Dufour not to return to the U.S. at that time explaining that because she was a bin Ladin, life would be difficult for her.
Dufour slipped into a deep depression for several months following the attacks on the U.S. saying, "My father's family knew I lived in New York. And you know, neither he nor anyone even called to see if I was OK." During that time she wrote music and the idea of pursuing a performance career took root.
The reality series will focus on Dufour's daily life as she pursues a musical career. The series, still un-named at this point is being offered to U.S. TV networks by Regan Media. But several family members of those who were killed on 9-11 are outraged that the niece of the world's most notorious mass murderer may receive instant celebrity simply because of her name and family association. The September 11th Families Association is urging any networks that may be considering running the series to "think again" adding, "The very idea that the family of a man with so much blood on his hands should profit from some sort of instant celebrity is an outrage."
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