"Hostility toward America is a religious duty, and we hope to be rewarded for it by God… I am confident that Muslims will be able to end the legend of the so-called superpower that is America."

Saudi Sunni Supervillain Still Sought!

Osama bin Laden is a terrorist, millionaire polygamist and proponent of militant Islam. He enjoys fighting superpowers and making apocalyptic pronouncements. Despite his devotion to violent action and rhetoric, he is said to be soft-spoken, mild-mannered and courteous in person.

Bin Laden, whose full name is Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden, is the son of Muhammad Awad bin Laden, who was Saudi Arabia's wealthiest construction magnate, a businessman with close ties with the Saudi royal family. Osama bin Laden is the 17th of 52 children sired by Muhammad Awad, who was married ten times including at one point, to four women at once. Bin Laden was raised as a Sunni muslim.

Bin Laden inherited a fortune of $300 million after his father's death, and at the age of 17 married his first wife (also his first cousin), Najwa Ghanew. He has since been married four times and has about 24 children.

At the end of 1979, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, bin Laden left Saudi Arabia to join the Afghan resistance (mujahedeen). For a number of years, bin Laden raised funds and provided the mujahedeen with logistical and humanitarian aid. From 1986 to 1989, according to Islamic sources, bin Laden participated in numerous battles during the Afghan war against the Soviets as a guerilla commander, including the fierce battle of Jalalabad which led the Soviets to finally withdraw from Afghanistan.

In 1988 bin Laden established Al Qaeda, an organization of ex-mujahedeen and other supporters. Al Qaeda is an Arabic phrase meaning "the base," and it's original mission was to channel fighters and funds to the Afghan resistance.

In 1989, after the Soviets pulled out of Afghanistan, bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia a hero. He became involved in movements opposed to the Saudi monarchy while working for his family construction firm, the Bin Laden Group. In 1991 he was forced to flee Saudi Arabia due to his opposition to the Saudi alliance with the United States. He moved first to Afghanistan and then to Sudan.

The invasion of Afghanistan in November 2001 resulted in the the capture and killing of many members of bin Laden's organization. There is speculation that during this time bin Laden was killed or died of natural causes, but a body was not found. He suffers from a kidney disorder that requires him to have ongoing medical treatments, and at the time may not have had access to the appropriate facilities.

The U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 posed a challenge to bin Laden. Al Qaeda is composed of Sunni muslims who believe that Shiite muslims are heretics, and prior to the Iraq war the country was controlled by the Sunni minority led by Saddam Hussein.

In October 2004, Al Jazeera, an Arab television news network, broadcast a recorded tape of bin Laden speaking to Americans about his reasons for the September 11, 2001 attacks. There is speculation about the validity of the video, as well as the effects it may have had on the presidential election contest between President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry, which took place the following month.

Rumors of bin Laden's whereabouts continue to swirl. In October 2004, John Lehman, a member of the 9/11 Commission, announced that bin Laden was still alive in the Toba Kakar Mountains of Pakistan. However, Pakistani Major General Shaukat Sultan described the claim as "ridiculous." In 2006 there were rumors that bin Laden was living in the Kumrat Valley in the Kohistan district of Pakistan.