I understand from Jehane Noujaim, the director of Control Room, that you attended the same high school as bin Laden.
Yes, I did. I went to school with him. But he attended my school for just a term. My parents were living in Saudi Arabia at the time, and the school was a regular one, like an American public school. Bin Laden was rather embarrassed about his wealth; it was something he didn't want other students to see. To hide his wealth, he would have his driver park three blocks away from the school and then [bin Laden would] walk to class with us, the riffraff.
What was he like as a person?
Bin Laden was a pacifist. He never got into fights. And if you hit him he would not hit you back. He would just stand there and take the blow. Really, people would hit him and he wouldn't hit back. And there were lots of fights at the school. I was often at the center of them.
Did you ever hit him?
No. I don't think so. But you know, he was quiet, soft-spoken, good at mathematics and soccer. We spoke many times while he was at the school and that was my impression of him--religious, considerate, and quiet. I don't know exactly when he changed his philosophy, but I do know that there are two bin Ladens: the one we know today and the one who attended my high school.... You must remember that above all, bin Laden is religious. His father, who died when he was 14, made sure he had religious training. So he is deeply religious. And such an upbringing can have two results. One, a pacifist; the other, a man of violence.
You are Sudanese, an African in the Arab world. What's that like, especially considering the tensions between black Africans and Arabs? I'm thinking of al Qaeda's terrorist attacks in Kenya and Tanzania, the precursors to 9/11. It outraged black Africans because it appeared as if Arabs were indifferent to the lives of black Africans. For the Arabs, one white American was worth 100 black African lives.
Yes, there was this feeling. But if you go to Mombassa today you will see that many of the black Africans also attribute the attacks to Arab fundamentalists. They see the difference. But in the end, time will heal this split. Time, trade, exchange, business--all of these things will heal the situation. But you must also think about the Arab and black African situation as being similar to that between blacks and whites in America. It is something that is taking time to work out.
