Terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden began hating the West after visiting William Shakespeare’s home and finding Britain ‘decadent’, a newly released journal shows.
In a notebook written in March 2011 and published by the CIA after US special forces killed him and raided his compound in Pakistan, the 9/11 architect recounts a trip he made to the West at the age of 13.
He explained he went there for ‘treatment’ during sixth grade, but gave no details.
The journal – one of 470,000 documents taken from bin Laden’s Abbottabad hideout – explains that the billionaire construction empire heir spent ten weeks studying in the UK.
The journal – one of 470,000 documents taken from bin Laden’s Abbottabad hideout – explains that the billionaire construction empire heir spent ten weeks studying in the UK. Circled: Bin Laden in Falun, Sweden in 1971, when he was about 14 years old. He went to the Scandinavian country with 22 members of the ultra-wealthy bin Laden family, with one of his older brothers remembered as driving around in a Volvo. Bin Laden, however, was noted as being a quiet and shy boy
While bin Laden was in the West, he visited Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire to see the birthplace of Shakespeare. He said: ‘I was not impressed and I saw that they were a society different from ours and that they were a morally loose society’
Bin Laden’s trip to the UK persuaded him that the West was a ‘decadent’ place. Pictured on the far right: Bin Laden with his brothers and Spanish girls during a visit to Oxford in 1971 when he was 14, at about the time he visited Stratford-upon-Avon
Bard v Barbarian: Bin Laden was taken to visit the home of the world’s most famous poet ‘every Sunday’ while he was in the UK to study, but he remained unimpressed
While there, he visited Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire to see the birthplace of Shakespeare.
He wrote: ‘I got the impression that they were a loose people, and my age didn’t allow me to form a complete picture of life there.
‘We went every Sunday to visit Shakespeare’s house.
‘I was not impressed and I saw that they were a society different from ours and that they were a morally loose society.’
The trip to the Midlands persuaded the savage Saudi Islamist that the West was a ‘decadent’ place.
He bought the journal from a popular bookshop in Pakistan not far from Abbottabad, where he lived for five years in hiding.
Some of the entries appear to have been made by the fanatic’s son, Khalid, who was killed by US special forces alongside his father in May 2011.
He bought the journal (pictured) from a popular bookshop in Pakistan not far from Abbottabad, where he lived for five years in hiding
At one point the writings address a dream of seeing Muslim-dominated countries joining in alliance as a prelude to the apocalypse.
But it appears the extremist’s time in England was not all bad – the CIA also revealed he had a videos of Mr Bean and Wallace and Gromit on his computer.
He even had dozens of clips about crochet.
Bin Laden was previously known to have visited England in 1971, taking an English-language course in Oxford.
A Spanish woman published a photograph showing the future mass-murderer with her and another girl in a park.
The BBC reported that the woman remembered bin Laden as being ‘deep’ and sounding educated for his age.
She also said he did not seem too concerned with religion or politics.
He apparently told the girl he was not interested in rock music or popular culture, and that he found foreigners in London to be ‘crazy’.
She also said bin Laden – who was with his three brothers – was sad that his mother was a concubine and that his siblings had different mothers.
It has been claimed in the past that bin Laden went to see Arsenal Football Club at their stadium in Highbury, North London, when he visited the British capital in 1994.
In the mid-1960s, bin Laden is believed to have been educated in Lebanon at the Brummana High School, which was established by Quakers.
British comedian Dom Joly – also a student at the school – backed up the claim bin Laden spent time there on BBC show ‘Would I Lie to You?’.
Among the tranche of files released by the CIA are also astonishing videos of bin Laden’s family life in hiding.
Some show his children and grandchildren playing in the open despite him being the world’s most wanted man.
Some of the entries appear to have been made by the fanatic’s son, Khalid, who was also killed by US special forces in May 2011. Pictured: The inside of the journal
One video shows never-before-seen footage of bin Laden’s son and potential successor, Hamza bin Laden, as an adult.
The home videos were seized from his Abbottabad compound after Seal Team Six stormed it and killed the 9/11 mastermind.
They were finally released six-and-a-half years after the dramatic raid which ended the mystery of where he was.
The videos show an apparently normal and happy family and betray little of the fear they were supposed to be living in.
Inevitably they will raise more questions over whether bin Laden had official help from some quarters of the Pakistani government to stay hidden from the CIA for almost a decade.
One raw video shot inside the compound shows a sizable barn with animals including cows, chickens, and cats.
The video starts with a shot of a baby calf being nursed by a mother cow.
It then shows a scene of tranquility where hens and roosters wander about in the barnyard while a female cat cares for her litter of kittens in a tiny space behind two trash bins.
There is even a cage full of rabbits and another pen reserved for chickens who are eating – not the setting one would expect would be home to a notorious arch-terrorist.
Astonishing videos of Osama bin Laden’s family life in hiding have been revealed by the CIA; In one scene, an old man with a white beard, headdress, and a robe resembling Bin Laden is seen instructing two young boys on how to shoot what appears to be a toy gun
Toddlers and infants are seen playing on swings in the courtyard while they are filmed
This girl appears to not have a care in the world as she plays on a swing in the compound courtyard
Most of the children are wearing traditional Pakistani garb while some are in regular T-shirts as they play indoors
The CIA also released a video showing young children frolicking about at home.
Toddlers and infants are seen playing on swings in the courtyard while they are filmed.
A young boy who appears no older than seven years of age is seen reciting sentences in Arabic.
Most of the children are wearing traditional Pakistani garb while some are in regular T-shirts as they play indoors.
The CIA released a video showing young children being doted on and frolicking at home
Another toddler is seen wearing a shirt with what appears to be a cartoon printed on it
A young boy who appears no older than seven years of age is seen reciting sentences in Arabic
The same boy is seen in the above up-close shot wearing a knitted hat while peering intently into the camera
Although bin Laden declared war on the West, the inhabitants of the compound still used cell phones. A computer hard drive was seen in one of the rooms, and Western pop music can be heard playing in the background as a young boy (above) fiddles with a mobile device
This young boy is seen in the playground of the compound in Abbottabad while looking straight into the camera
The infant seemed to be enjoying himself as he plays with a relative inside the home
In one scene, an old man with a white beard, headdress, and a robe is seen instructing two young boys on how to shoot what appears to be a toy gun.
In the next scene, children are filmed as they play on a slide.
The video also shows footage of a baby girl who appears no older than five months of age.
The footage indicates that although bin Laden declared war on the West, the inhabitants of the compound still used cell phones.
One segment shows snowfall accumulating at the compound, while another shot shows a rainbow emerging from the horizon outside the facility’s walls
A computer hard drive was seen in one of the rooms, and Western pop music can be heard playing in the background as a young boy fiddles with a mobile device.
Another clip released by the CIA shows footage of the surrounding areas of the compound during the different seasons.
One segment shows snowfall accumulating at the compound, while another shot shows a rainbow emerging from the horizon outside the facility’s walls.
Another video offers the first public look at Hamza bin Laden as an adult. Until now, the public has only seen childhood pictures of him.
In recent years, Al Qaeda has released audio messages from Hamza bin Laden.
And to mark a recent anniversary of 9/11, Al Qaeda superimposed a childhood photo of him over a photo of the World Trade Center.
He is expected to rise to prominence in the jihadist movement and is being closely watched as the rival Islamic State organization suffers setbacks in the Middle East.
One hourlong video shows Hamza bin Laden, sporting a trimmed mustache but no beard, at his wedding. He is sitting on a carpet with other men.
A man chanting Koranic verses can be heard in the background.
Another video offers the first public look at Hamza bin Laden, Osama bin Laden’s son, as an adult. Until now, the public has only seen childhood pictures of him
In recent years, Al Qaeda has released audio messages from Hamza bin Laden, who was thought to be groomed by his father to succeed him as head of the jihadist terror network
An hourlong video shows Hamza bin Laden, sporting a trimmed mustache but no beard, at his wedding. He is sitting on a carpet with other men
Sporting a traditional white headdress, he verbally accepts his marriage to his bride ‘on the book of God and the example of the prophet. Peace be upon him.’
‘Takbeer!’ the others shout, marking his marriage with a kind of religious hooray.
The material was taken from a computer recovered in the 2011 US special forces operation that killed bin Laden.
The hard drive contained a video collection that included kids’ cartoons, several Hollywood movies and three documentaries about himself.
The list of the videos was included in the release on Wednesday by the CIA of nearly 470,000 files found on the computer seized in the May 2, 2011, US raid on the Al Qaeda founder’s hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
It is the fourth tranche of materials taken from the walled compound where bin Laden and his family lived to be made public by the US government since May 2015.
One of the videos shows a scene of tranquility where hens and roosters wander about in the barnyard
Down on the farm: The video starts with a shot of a baby calf being nursed by a mother cow
There is even a cage full of rabbits and another pen reserved for chickens who are eating – not the setting one would expect would be home to a notorious arch-terrorist
Materials that still have not been released are being withheld because they could harm national security, are blank, corrupted or duplicate files, are pornographic or are protected by copyright, said a CIA statement.
Bin Laden (seen above in 2001) was eventually killed by SEAL Team Six in 2011 after 10 years in hiding
The copyright-protected materials include more than two dozen videos such as Antz, Cars and other animated films, the role-playing game Final Fantasy VII and Where in the World is Osama bin Laden and two other documentaries about the Al Qaeda leader, the CIA said.
‘Today’s release of recovered Al Qaeda letters, videos, audio files and other materials provides the opportunity for the American people to gain further insights into the plans and workings of this terrorist organization,’ said CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
‘CIA will continue to seek opportunities to share information with the American people consistent with our obligation to protect national security.’
The materials released on Wednesday are posted on line – here – in their original Arabic.
They include bin Laden’s personal journal and 18,000 document files, about 79,000 audio and image files and more than 10,000 video files, the CIA said.
The CIA said that the materials, like those released in the past, provide insights into the origins of the differences between Al Qaeda and Islamic State, disagreements within Al Qaeda and its allies, and the problems Al Qaeda faced at the time of bin Laden’s death.