Inside the Kingdom

"This book had me spellbound from beginning to the end. I loved this book because it sparked my curiosities and gave me the in-depth look inside the daily routines and extremely sheltered lives of women in Saudi Arabia. What drew my attention to this book was that it entailed the personal life experiences of Carmen Bin Ladin, while being married at the time to her now ex-husband, Yeslam Bin Ladin and brother of Osama Bin Ladin. What a tangled web poor Carmen fell into and was trapped for many years while married to Yeslam. In her book, Carmen describes the many layers of the required codes of conduct, both inside her home in the kingdom and outside in public, and describes the beliefs and interactions she had with the other women of the Bin Ladin clan. The Saudi Arabian lifestyle became difficult for Carmen to conform to and accept, in every aspect of her life as a wife, mother, and daughter-in-law in Saudi Arabia. Carmen, the author, describes in her book how her freedom to make her own decisions and to voice her own opinions became a privilege she desperately needed to recover, which she lost in Saudi Arabia. Her human rights of freedom became a valuable necessity for the happiness of herself and her daughters. I admire Carmen for having the strength to stay true to herself, not change her beliefs to please her husband and his family. She didn't allow her young daughters to accept the Saudi lifestyle and the nightmares she had endured. Therefore, she followed her heart and instincts by divorcing her husband Yeslam and attained full custody of her daughters. It was heartbreaking that Yeslam turned his back on his own children and cut them off financially and denied he was the father. To make matters worst, Yeslam's side of the family also turned their backs to Carmen and her daughters. This book served as an educational tool for me, because it taught me that not everything that sparkles is gold, and to be cautious of who you open your heart to because you can end up with a wolf in sheeps clothing".

This is a memoir of Carmen Bin Ladin's life as a child growing up in Switzerland; of later meeting her husband Yeslam Bin Ladin whilst a student in Geneva; of then living in Jeddah amongst the Bin Ladins; and finally to her painful divorce.Carmen was born of a Swiss father and an Iranian mother. It was not accepted in Iran for a Muslim girl to marry a Christian foreigner, so her mother had to leave Iran to escape her family's harsh criticisms. But the marriage did not last long, and her mother could not return back to Iran in fear of being looked upon as a divorced woman, a curse in Iranian society.After the divorce, Carmen and her mother remained in Switzerland. It was in Geneva that Carmen first met her husband to be, Yeslam Bin Ladin. She described him as being quiet, well dressed, and smart (later in life he used to compete with other princes on whom dressed better). Carmen soon started dating Yeslam, and humorously, she ends up getting married in a car in a parking lot in Saudi Arabia. Apparently, she was not allowed to enter the ministry building to sign the marriage papers, so the papers were brought to her whilst she sat waiting in the car. Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to mix with men, and therefore cannot enter buildings were men work. Getting married in a car was the first of the many culture shocks Carmen was to experience.Carmen relates her life as the wife of a Bin Ladin. Mohammad Bin Ladin, the father of the Bin Ladin clan, had over 50 children and countless wives whom he kept at his compound at Kilo 7 in Jeddah. I think Kilo 7 refers to the Mecca Road, 7 being seven kilometers away from Jeddah, but someone will have to check me on that.It is quite interesting that Mohammad Bin Laden would choose to keep all his wives together in one compound. In Islam, a man can have 4 wives at the same time. Mohammad Bin Laden therefore had to divorce a wife each time he wanted to remarry in order not to exceed the allowed quota of 4 wives. As long as one of his divorced wives did not remarry, she was allowed to stay in the compound together with her kids. It was even rumored that there was a competition going on between King Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia and Mohammad Bin Ladin on who will have more children. King Abdul-Aziz won, with over 60 children and many more wives.Living at the Bin Ladin compound was hard for Carmen. She couldn't go shopping for she was prohibited from mixing with men. Whenever she needed something, such as a bathing suit, she had to send her driver. Eventually Safeway opened in Jeddah, and Carmen was able to go grocery shopping. She relates one instance where a group of British and American expats were all gathering at the chocolate aisle and filling their trolleys with chocolate boxes. Carmen later realized that the chocolates contained liqueur. Alcohol is prohibited in Saudi Arabia, but somehow the liqueur chocolates must have slipped by the customs officials.Carmen's life was a reasonably happy one in the beginning. She describes her relationships with the other Bin Ladin wives; the relationship of her husband with his brothers; and of course, she talks about Osama Bin Ladin.Apparently, Osama was a quiet man and very pious. Unlike his brothers who at first lived a lavish life and were known for their promiscuity and for being playboys, Osama never embraced the western liberal way of life. Carmen says that rumors of him having been a playboy in his younger days are just false. Even pictures allegedly showing him partying in Europe are not of him, but of his brothers who resemble him somewhat. Interestingly, she says that his brothers do not believe that he could have been capable of masterminding the 9/11 attacks on the United States.Since the Bin Ladin family was the only family given exclusive rights to renovate the two holy sites, Mecca and Medina, the family was given preferential treatment. For example, if a policeman or a member of the religious police stopped one of the Bin Ladins, all they had to say was Bin Ladin, and they were quickly released or given right of way. No one asked for their IDs. This however was not good policy, for it allowed a group of Islamists, hidden in Bin Ladin trucks (which were never searched), to attack and seize the holy Mosque in Mecca in 1979. In fact, one of the Bin Ladin brothers was arrested as a suspect in the attack, but was soon released because he was a Bin Ladin.When Mohammad Bin Ladin died in a plane crash he was piloting, the eldest son was still in his twenties. The king therefore appointed a trustee to run the family fortune. Eventually, as the brothers grew up, they took full control of the family business. According to Carmen, her husband Yeslam was the smartest of the brothers, and this gave rise to envy and jealousy. His brothers frequently downplayed his decisions, and publicly offended him. They also took credit for many of his savvy deals that added to his family's wealth and fame. Eventually, Yeslam quit his family business, was given 300 million dollars as his share of the family wealth, and moved to Switzerland. However, his brothers, eventually recognizing his value to the family business, asked him to return.Carmen relates how she longed to travel outside Saudi Arabia, and how she enjoyed her freedom during her trips to Switzerland and the United States. One thing I liked about Carmen is that she is a bibliophile. She piled books on her travels to read while literally imprisoned in the Bin Ladin compound in Jeddah. She read all subjects, from philosophy to politics.Carmen describes the state of mind of the Saudi Royals during the downfall of the Shah of Iran, and the rise of the Ayatollah Khomeini. Before the Ayatollah, Saudi Arabia was moving in the right direction, becoming more liberal and westernized. However, after the Iranian revolution, with fear of it spilling to Saudi Arabia, religious fanatics gained power and turned the country into a strict religious monarchy, very much like during the Taliban in Afghanistan. Women were not allowed to drive; had to be completely covered; were discouraged of going to school; were discouraged to go in public places; were forbidden from working; were not allowed to join any health clubs or do any sports; and were raised to be subservient to their future husbands. The country suddenly moved hundreds of years backwards! Carmen, who had high hopes of living in Jeddah, had her hopes collapse. Her life was becoming unbearable in Jeddah. She longed to go back to Switzerland.Trouble between her and her husband first started during her third pregnancy. Her husband did not want the baby, and Carmen eventually had an abortion. She describes the psychological pain she had to endure after the abortion.When Carmen was pregnant again, her husband once more asked her to have an abortion. This time she refused, and she knew that it would be over between them. To make matters worse, she learnt that her husband was cheating on her, and she even caught him leaving one of his mistress's homes in the middle of the morning.Carmen gives us a lot of insight into the life of her husband Yeslam. Apparently, later in his life, he acted strange, was often depressed, and complained of imaginary illnesses. He also had a fear of flying, and refused to fly alone. Like his father, his brother Salem also died while piloting his own aircraft in Texas.I did not like the last chapter which talked about the Bin Ladins. The chapter seemed more like an attack on the Bin Ladin family, as if Carmen wanted to get back at her ex-husband. She says that the Bin Ladin family should make their secret dealings open to public scrutiny, and that their present relation with Osama should be revealed. These statements somewhat weakened her book. If she knows something we don't she should just tell us, or better still, let the CIA know. I am sure she is genuine in her last chapter (chapter 19, conclusion), but I think it is more personal and revengeful than anything else. By the way, an additional chapter was added in later editions. The book I read had the added chapter included.Overall, this is a good read for those who want to know about Saudi society in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s, and especially those wanting to learn about the Bin Ladin family. The reader should note that since King Abdullah gained the throne, Saudi Arabia has been moving forward at a tremendous speed, and the country is becoming more open, tolerant, and westernized. And kudos, women now outsmart the guys. Well done!

Gave an amazing insight to things I knew little about. Its awhile since I read it but I remember gaining an understanding of the culture of these men which is very different from our understanding of the men we are used to in our culture . Americans need a better understanding of other cultures if we are ever to bring peace in this world.The culture is so primitive. Its like if you take the the present culture of Latino machismo & consider it advanced in comparison to the Arab men who are attacking the west. If you consider their culture & values as back to before the 12th century . I don't even know how to explain it except to say, that we cannot negotiate with someone from the 12th century unless we understand their values which are so different from ours that there is no understanding on either side. She doesn't discuss this as it was written before 9/11, but understanding what is valued by this primitive culture & these primitive men & subservient women might aid us in our present cunumdrum . There is no translation for the tremendous differences in understanding. I don't think American military will make the effort to understand what I am attempting to say or understand the insights she offered in this book. It was interesting & an entertaining story & well worth reading for everyone but especially important read for the American military. However I doubt they will bother & if they do I doubt they will apply the knowledge to present day problems which makes me pessimistic about peace :-(

o livro retrata a vida da sociedade saudita bem na fase antes do boom do petróleo passando por ele até os anos 90. Mostra a vida de uma familia bem posicionada na sociedade e como as mulheres ainda são tratadas. Leitura interessantíssima

Carmen Bin Ladin's autobiography depicts the lives of women in Saudi Arabia little as better than slaves. It begins with an apparently idyllic marriage where happiness turned to disillusionment as Carmen grew in her understanding of the repressive nature of Saudi society. Her husband wanted sons, daughters being relatively unwanted in Saudi society, and this had tragic consequences with her third pregnancy being terminated. She was also asked to end her fourth pregnancy, also a daughter, and fortunately refused. Her daughters (as Saudi citizens) were not allowed to attend foreign schools and taught anti-semitism (one scene describes her horror when her daughter came home from school with "I hate Jews" written in her exercise book). Rote learning was the main method of education, and the greater part of the curriculum was religion, other subjects being Arabic, mathematics and history, but no music, sport, or discussion and debate.She finally took the opportunity to escape with her daughters and bring them up in the West when circumstances (including sadly an acrimonious divorce) made it possible, because she couldn't accept the idea of her daughters growing up without freedom.The book actually contains very little about her infamous brother-in-law. It mentions one encounter when he refused to look at her (since Saudi culture would only allow her husband to see her unveiled face) and her intuition two days before 9/11, when Al-Qaeda suicide bombers killed an Afghan leader who might have been sympathetic to America, that he was going to do something terrible.A book worth reading.

This was well written.

She distances herself from her horrible former brother-in-law and supports the freedoms of the West. It's great that she and her daughters got free themselves as well.

あまりにも女性の権利自体が認められていない社会で、著者はサウジの女性の意識改革をしようと努力するも、逆に(サウジの女性からも)「おせっかい」ともとられるぐらい徒労に終わる様は「処置なし」って感じです。サウジの女性自身も現状に甘んじている方が得策と思っている、または現状が当たり前と思っている様子も興味深いです。また(失礼かもしれませんが）1930年に油田開発が本格的に開始され、働かなくても溢れるほどのオイルマネーを手中にした人達のお金の使い方は圧巻というか、あまりにも我々と世界が違い「呆れた」感を覚えました。最後の方の章のPrinces & Princessesでは、簡単にサウジの王族のことにも触れられ、ちょっとはこの辺の国のことが理解できてよかったです。英単語としては、”Lunched with her (ランチを動詞扱いしている）”など見慣れないものも散見し、少し大げさな表現も目立ちましたが、全体的に素直な文章なので以外と読めました。