'I would like to be in a position to promote peace', says Osama's son - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden's son, Omar bin Laden, has insisted that he is definitely not someone cut from the same cloth as his father, saying he would 'like to be in a position to promote peace'. "I have a habit of speaking the truth, even when it does not serve me well. But I would like to be in a position to promote peace. I believe that the United Nations would be ideal for me," The Guardian quoted Omar, as saying. Omar, the fourth eldest son of the world's most wanted man, said he had ended contact with his father in April 2001 after he was asked to take up arms at a meeting with his father's fighters. "His sons were in attendance, although none of us was a fighter. He spoke of how it is a great honour to give one's life for Islam and said anyone who wanted to give their life should put their name on a paper in the mosque," Omar said. "He never asked me to join Al-Qaida, but he did tell me I was the son chosen to carry on his work. He was disappointed when I said I was not suited to that life. I do not like disagreement or violence," he added. He also recalled his memories of September 11, 2001 attacks in America. Omar, who was at his grandmother in Jeddah at the time, said the he does not believe his father was behind the attack. "I had been sound asleep and was woken by my uncle yelling: 'Look what your father has done!' I went into the sitting area and my family was gathered around the television. I soon learned that America was under attack. It was a very sad day," he said. "I did not agree with my uncle's reaction. I never thought my father was capable of the carnage in America - it was too big for his small organization. I cannot speak for my father's family. This topic is too painful for us to talk about. We were all so shocked by the suffering of those poor people that, after that morning, none of us ever had a conversation about it," Omar added.