This article discusses the perception of Osama Bin Laden around the world.

Western countries


In this picture, an American teenager is wearing an anti-Osama Bin Laden t-shirt.

Osama bin Laden was almost completely unknown in the West prior to the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings. He gained much greater notoriety following the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks.

Most people in the West hold a negative perception of Osama Bin Laden. Some view him as a power-hungry man who is using religion as an excuse to attack other countries. Some see him as a religious fanatic that is wantonly killing people and threatening the peace of the world.

Some Americans and Europeans do sympathize with him or his motives, accepting his accusations that the US is allied with Israel against Palestinians and Arabs, and that the United States is occupying Saudi Arabia.

Some people in those countries are indifferent to Osama bin Laden.

Osama is often seen as "the man" to get to destroy Al-Qaida. On the contrary, many important men are involved in the attacks, and several important men have been killed, like Mohammed Atef, or captured, like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. Of course, several other important figures, such as Ayman Al-Zawahiri, still have not been captured.

Anti-Bin Laden merchandise, including toilet paper rolls with his face on it, is sold within the United States.

Islamic countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia

Before the Sept 11th attacks, many Muslims in those regions had come to admire bin Laden for his charity work and his defense of Islam. Some extremist Muslims in those regions sympathize with Osama bin Laden and sometimes protest actions taken against bin Laden by the United States.


Some people like to crack jokes about Osama bin Laden, as shown by this doctored photograph from Sweden

However, this support is not unanimous or unwavering: he has been banned from his own country of Saudi Arabia and was supposedly disowned by his family (who use the English spelling Binladin).

Moderate Muslims in those regions look down at bin Laden as too extremist, and do not support his tactics for getting the U.S. to change its foriegn policy.