What do you think?
Rate this book
Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia
Osama bin Laden's former sister-in-law provides a penetrating, unusually intimate look into Saudi society and the bin Laden family's role within it, as well as the treatment of Saudi women. On September 11th, 2001, Carmen bin Ladin heard the news that the Twin Towers had been struck. She instinctively knew that her ex-brother-in-law was involved in these horrifying acts of terrorism, and her heart went out to America. She also knew that her life and the lives of her family would never be the same again. Carmen bin Ladin, half Swiss and half Persian, married into-and later divorced from-the bin Laden family and found herself inside a complex and vast clan, part of a society that she neither knew nor understood. Her story takes us inside the bin Laden family and one of the most powerful, secretive, and repressed kingdoms in the world.
214 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
113 people are currently reading
4155 people want to read
About the author
Carmen Bin Ladin
8 books29 followersCarmen bin Ladin, born Carmen Dufour, in Geneva, Switzerland, is a member of the bin Laden family. She was raised in Lausanne by her mother only in Switzerland with three little sisters (Salomé, Béatrice, and Magnolia). Her father is Swiss (Dufour) and her mother Persian (Mirdoht-Sheybani).
Carmen (56 years old) was married to one of Osama bin Laden's older brothers, Yeslam bin Ladin, until 1988. They were married in 1974 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She has three daughters, Wafah Dufour (born 1975), Najia (born 1978), and Noor (born 1987).
Carmen (56 years old) was married to one of Osama bin Laden's older brothers, Yeslam bin Ladin, until 1988. They were married in 1974 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She has three daughters, Wafah Dufour (born 1975), Najia (born 1978), and Noor (born 1987).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 671 reviews
May 29, 2008
While I do sympathize with the struggle of many middle eastern women, I thought this book was an exercise in victimhood. This woman who was much more privileged than the majority of any population complains and whines the entire book about her situation, while the whole time she was able to escape. She spoke of how hard it was for her and how she had to take a holiday to Europe. Sorry if I reserve my guilt for those who can not whisk themselves away at their whim. I believe her to be opportunistic and self absorbed. The oppression of an upper class woman with the ability to escape would never of sold if her last name was different. There are much more terrible things than her life. It sucks she married the wrong guy, but you would think that she would have the foresight to understand the Middle Eastern culture she was marrying into. I understand that much and I do not think that I am going to marry anyone from Saudi Arabia anytime soon. /rant
July 3, 2019
فقط ميشه گفت؛ايران٢٠١٩=عربستان١٩٧٦
عربستان٢٠١٩=ايران١٩٧٦
عربستان٢٠١٩=ايران١٩٧٦
February 2, 2025
نکته ای که خودِ خانم کارمن هم بهش اشاره کرده اینه که شوهری که باهاش توی اروپا اشنا شده و ازدواج کرده، همون مردی نبوده که تصمیم گرفت ازش جدا بشه. البته که عربستانِ دهه ی هفتادِ میلادی واقعاً عقب مونده و متحجر بوده، اما ایشون تلاشش رو کرده که عقایدِ درست رو با رفتارش به نمایش بذاره، البته تا جایی که شوهرش ازش حمایت میکنه، اما خب زورِ خانواده برای تحمیلِ عقایدِ سخت گیرانه به اعضا، باعث اختلاف و جدایی این زوج میشه.
Inside the Kingdom by Carmen Bin Ladin is a gripping and eye-opening memoir that offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at life within the powerful Bin Laden family, as well as the complexities of being a woman in a deeply traditional and oppressive society. Bin Ladin, who was married to the brother of the infamous Osama bin Laden, paints a candid portrait of her years living in Saudi Arabia, where she navigated the tension between her upbringing in a Westernized environment and the harsh realities of the conservative Saudi monarchy.
What makes this memoir particularly compelling is Carmen's courage in recounting her personal struggles, from her initial romanticized view of the Bin Laden family to the painful awakening to the oppressive practices and patriarchal control that defined much of her life there. Her personal journey of self-discovery, from a naive young woman to one who ultimately defies the restrictions placed on her, is inspiring and thought-provoking.
Inside the Kingdom is also an exploration of cultural dissonance, as Carmen attempts to reconcile her Western values with the limitations imposed by her environment. Her story is one of bravery and resilience as she confronts a world where women's rights are severely restricted and where personal freedom is often sacrificed for the sake of family honor and societal expectations.
Overall, Inside the Kingdom is a fascinating and courageous memoir that sheds light on a life few have been privy to, offering readers a deeper understanding of Saudi Arabian society, the complexities of the Bin Laden family, and the personal costs of living under oppressive regimes. It is a powerful account of survival, independence, and the pursuit of a life of one's own making.
Inside the Kingdom by Carmen Bin Ladin is a gripping and eye-opening memoir that offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at life within the powerful Bin Laden family, as well as the complexities of being a woman in a deeply traditional and oppressive society. Bin Ladin, who was married to the brother of the infamous Osama bin Laden, paints a candid portrait of her years living in Saudi Arabia, where she navigated the tension between her upbringing in a Westernized environment and the harsh realities of the conservative Saudi monarchy.
What makes this memoir particularly compelling is Carmen's courage in recounting her personal struggles, from her initial romanticized view of the Bin Laden family to the painful awakening to the oppressive practices and patriarchal control that defined much of her life there. Her personal journey of self-discovery, from a naive young woman to one who ultimately defies the restrictions placed on her, is inspiring and thought-provoking.
Inside the Kingdom is also an exploration of cultural dissonance, as Carmen attempts to reconcile her Western values with the limitations imposed by her environment. Her story is one of bravery and resilience as she confronts a world where women's rights are severely restricted and where personal freedom is often sacrificed for the sake of family honor and societal expectations.
Overall, Inside the Kingdom is a fascinating and courageous memoir that sheds light on a life few have been privy to, offering readers a deeper understanding of Saudi Arabian society, the complexities of the Bin Laden family, and the personal costs of living under oppressive regimes. It is a powerful account of survival, independence, and the pursuit of a life of one's own making.
October 4, 2023
این کتاب رو به خاطر آشنایی بیشتر با خانواده بن‌لادن انتخاب کردم ولی خب در مورد خود اسامه بن‌لادن اطلاعات خیلی محدودی میده و حتی شاید کتاب‌های دیگه که در مورد کلیات عربستان بود اطلاعات کامل‌تری از اون داشتن.
تو این کتاب بیشتر در مورد خانواده بن‌لادن، نحوه تجارت‌شون، اینکه چطوری به این شرایط رسیدن توضیح میده و محور اصلی اون یسلام بن‌لادن (همسر نویسنده کتاب هستش) هستش.
کتاب حجم زیادی نداره و سریع خونده میشه و دوگانگی زندگی درون عربستان و خارج از اون رو برای شهروندان این کشور و حتی بعضی از شاهزاده‌ها به خوبی ترسیم میکنه.
نکته‌ای که یخورده اذیت میکنه اینه که نویسنده طوری از خاطراتش میگه که گویا خودش و دخترهاش (که اون تربیت کرده) بهترین آدم‌ها هستن و از همه نظر از بقیه آدم‌های دیگر در عربستان باشعورتر و پیشرفته‌تر و بهتر هستند. حتی اگر همسرش موفقیتی در تجارت کسب میکنه به خاطر راهنمایی‌ها و مشاوره‌های ایشون بوده. همسر نویسنده هم تا وقتی که با هم زندگی می‌کنند بسیار نواندیش و موفق و مناسب است ولی در انتها از همه فضایل اخلاقی بی‌بهره میشه.
البته چون کتاب به صورت اتوبیوگرافی هستش قطعا با نظرات شخصی نویسنده روبه‌رو هستیم ولی خب خیلی جاهای کتاب سوالاتی به ذهن خواننده میاد که نویسنده میتونسته از خودش بپرسه و شاید اینجوری متن کمتر حق به جانب می‌رسیده.
تو این کتاب بیشتر در مورد خانواده بن‌لادن، نحوه تجارت‌شون، اینکه چطوری به این شرایط رسیدن توضیح میده و محور اصلی اون یسلام بن‌لادن (همسر نویسنده کتاب هستش) هستش.
کتاب حجم زیادی نداره و سریع خونده میشه و دوگانگی زندگی درون عربستان و خارج از اون رو برای شهروندان این کشور و حتی بعضی از شاهزاده‌ها به خوبی ترسیم میکنه.
نکته‌ای که یخورده اذیت میکنه اینه که نویسنده طوری از خاطراتش میگه که گویا خودش و دخترهاش (که اون تربیت کرده) بهترین آدم‌ها هستن و از همه نظر از بقیه آدم‌های دیگر در عربستان باشعورتر و پیشرفته‌تر و بهتر هستند. حتی اگر همسرش موفقیتی در تجارت کسب میکنه به خاطر راهنمایی‌ها و مشاوره‌های ایشون بوده. همسر نویسنده هم تا وقتی که با هم زندگی می‌کنند بسیار نواندیش و موفق و مناسب است ولی در انتها از همه فضایل اخلاقی بی‌بهره میشه.
البته چون کتاب به صورت اتوبیوگرافی هستش قطعا با نظرات شخصی نویسنده روبه‌رو هستیم ولی خب خیلی جاهای کتاب سوالاتی به ذهن خواننده میاد که نویسنده میتونسته از خودش بپرسه و شاید اینجوری متن کمتر حق به جانب می‌رسیده.
September 20, 2007
I found it to be very stuffy, stuck up, but sometimes honest and even touching prose. It is definitely well written, and the author’s personality shines through ever page. It is a good insight into the lifestyle of the Muslim woman in Saudi Arabia, however, I cannot help but feel that this is a completely biased story. I don’t trust the author. I don’t feel like she is a person I would enjoy having a conversation with if I knew her. I have a looming feeling that her perspective of reality is tremendously compromised (because of her wealth, family, lack of life experience) and I cannot really take her story to heart. I didn’t want to feel this way, but I do feel that her writing is an attempt to make money from the fact that she is Osama Bin Laden’s sister in law.
November 8, 2021
اعتراف تلخ: دو_سه سال پیش که این کتاب رو خوندم، به نظرم فوق‌العاده اومد. این‌بار هم با همون ذهنیت رفتم سراغش که خب، خسته نباشم!
روی جلد نوشته:« پرده‌برداری از اسرار بزرگ‌ترین و قدرتمندترین خانواده سعودی»
حالا اسراری که ازشون پرده‌برداشته شده رو جلوتر می‌گم.:)))
خانم کارمن مدام به علاقه‌ش نسبت به مطالعه و سیاست تاکید میکنه؛ فقط برام سواله که تو علاقه‌ش، به عربستان بر نخورده که هی میگه نمی‌دونستم اونجا چه خبره؟ البته به قول خودش جوان بود. حالا به ماشین و جواهرهایی که یسلام خرید کاری نداریم. جوانیه و جاهلی!
زیاده و بیهوده‌گویی به هیچ عنوان کم نیست. مثلاً چند صفحه فقط از ماجرای موکت عوض کردنشون می‌خونیم. :) من برای این که به ماجراهای موکتی برنخورم، مراقبم بلایی سرشون نیاد؛ بعد تو «پرده‌برداری از اسرار بن‌لادن‌ها» باید بخونم که کجای موکت خراب شده بود؟ هعی
بدون اغراق، هر جا بحث زنان عرب اومد وسط، خانم کارمن این رو گفت که توی مهمونی‌هاشون جز غیبت و فخرفروشی کار دیگه‌ای نمی‌کنن. نمی‌دونم از کمال همنشینه یا چی که اگه بخوایم از روی همین کتاب قضاوت کنیم، خود ایشون هم وضع متفاوتی ندارن. یکی دو فصل فقط درباره اینه که چطور بقیه زن‌ها از کارمن تقلید می‌کردن یا فلانی چقدر بی‌سلیقه خونه‌شو چیده بود. :)) یک جا هم میگه که به قیمت لباس توجه نمی‌کردم و هر چی قشنگ بود می‌گرفتم ولی بقیه اینجوری نبودن و خرید کردن براشون اجبار بود... خب الآن این چیه که گفتی؟ به من چه که معیار لباس خریدنت چیه؟ این راز بن‌لادن‌هاست؟
نویسنده وقتی می‌خواد درباره خصلت هرکسی صحبت کنه، یه «همه مردان/زنان سعودی» می‌چسبونه بهش. از طرفی هم تو کتاب به معاشرت ایشون با بقیه عرب‌ها، مخصوصاً افرادی که از خانواده خودشون نیستن، اشاره‌ای نشده و من واقعاً می‌خوام بدونم که این همه زنان/مردان سعودی فلان جورن از کجا اومده.
تقریباً تو کل کتاب یک دید از بالا به پایینی رو احساس می‌کردم. یک جور که انگار کارمن می‌خواست بگه همه کم عقل، کم خرد، سطحی‌نگر و بی‌فکر بودن، غیر از خودش. درحالی که چندان به تفاوت شرایط زندگی خودش و بقیه، و همینطور ایرادهای خودش نگاه نمیکنه.
من به هیچکس پیشنهاد خوندن یا نخوندن در قلمرو پادشاهان رو نمی‌کنم. (اعتراف تلخ۲: قبلاً پیشنهاد می‌کردم.) فقط این که مطمئنم کتاب‌های دیگری درباره عربستان، خاورمیانه، زنان، بن‌لادن‌ها و یازده سپتامبر هست که می‌تونن انتخاب‌های بهتری برای مطالعه باشن. (حالا تا اینجا اومدید؛ اگه کتابی می‌شناسید بی‌زحمت معرفی کنید.)
در آخر اینکه به نظرم کتاب به قدر کافی آگاهی نمی‌ده. خبری از اسامه نیست. فکر میکنم اطلاعاتی که از بن‌لادن‌ها و عربستان داده، تو منابع دیگه هم در دسترسه. و به نظرم زنی که عضو خانواده بانفوذ عربستان باشه، نمی‌تونه واقعیت وضع مردم و زنان کشور رو بفهمه، چه برسه به این که به بقیه هم نشون بده.
این کتاب متاثر از دیدگاه نویسنده نیست؛ تمامش دیدگاه نویسنده ست.
پ‌ن: یعنی عروس خانواده بن‌لادن‌ها باشی، شوهرت هم یسلام باشه که حرفش خریدار داره، هر کاری هم می‌گی انجام بده، بعد تنها کاری که می‌تونی انجام بدی امیدوار بودن به آینده باشه؟ چه می‌دونیم...
روی جلد نوشته:« پرده‌برداری از اسرار بزرگ‌ترین و قدرتمندترین خانواده سعودی»
حالا اسراری که ازشون پرده‌برداشته شده رو جلوتر می‌گم.:)))
خانم کارمن مدام به علاقه‌ش نسبت به مطالعه و سیاست تاکید میکنه؛ فقط برام سواله که تو علاقه‌ش، به عربستان بر نخورده که هی میگه نمی‌دونستم اونجا چه خبره؟ البته به قول خودش جوان بود. حالا به ماشین و جواهرهایی که یسلام خرید کاری نداریم. جوانیه و جاهلی!
زیاده و بیهوده‌گویی به هیچ عنوان کم نیست. مثلاً چند صفحه فقط از ماجرای موکت عوض کردنشون می‌خونیم. :) من برای این که به ماجراهای موکتی برنخورم، مراقبم بلایی سرشون نیاد؛ بعد تو «پرده‌برداری از اسرار بن‌لادن‌ها» باید بخونم که کجای موکت خراب شده بود؟ هعی
بدون اغراق، هر جا بحث زنان عرب اومد وسط، خانم کارمن این رو گفت که توی مهمونی‌هاشون جز غیبت و فخرفروشی کار دیگه‌ای نمی‌کنن. نمی‌دونم از کمال همنشینه یا چی که اگه بخوایم از روی همین کتاب قضاوت کنیم، خود ایشون هم وضع متفاوتی ندارن. یکی دو فصل فقط درباره اینه که چطور بقیه زن‌ها از کارمن تقلید می‌کردن یا فلانی چقدر بی‌سلیقه خونه‌شو چیده بود. :)) یک جا هم میگه که به قیمت لباس توجه نمی‌کردم و هر چی قشنگ بود می‌گرفتم ولی بقیه اینجوری نبودن و خرید کردن براشون اجبار بود... خب الآن این چیه که گفتی؟ به من چه که معیار لباس خریدنت چیه؟ این راز بن‌لادن‌هاست؟
نویسنده وقتی می‌خواد درباره خصلت هرکسی صحبت کنه، یه «همه مردان/زنان سعودی» می‌چسبونه بهش. از طرفی هم تو کتاب به معاشرت ایشون با بقیه عرب‌ها، مخصوصاً افرادی که از خانواده خودشون نیستن، اشاره‌ای نشده و من واقعاً می‌خوام بدونم که این همه زنان/مردان سعودی فلان جورن از کجا اومده.
تقریباً تو کل کتاب یک دید از بالا به پایینی رو احساس می‌کردم. یک جور که انگار کارمن می‌خواست بگه همه کم عقل، کم خرد، سطحی‌نگر و بی‌فکر بودن، غیر از خودش. درحالی که چندان به تفاوت شرایط زندگی خودش و بقیه، و همینطور ایرادهای خودش نگاه نمیکنه.
من به هیچکس پیشنهاد خوندن یا نخوندن در قلمرو پادشاهان رو نمی‌کنم. (اعتراف تلخ۲: قبلاً پیشنهاد می‌کردم.) فقط این که مطمئنم کتاب‌های دیگری درباره عربستان، خاورمیانه، زنان، بن‌لادن‌ها و یازده سپتامبر هست که می‌تونن انتخاب‌های بهتری برای مطالعه باشن. (حالا تا اینجا اومدید؛ اگه کتابی می‌شناسید بی‌زحمت معرفی کنید.)
در آخر اینکه به نظرم کتاب به قدر کافی آگاهی نمی‌ده. خبری از اسامه نیست. فکر میکنم اطلاعاتی که از بن‌لادن‌ها و عربستان داده، تو منابع دیگه هم در دسترسه. و به نظرم زنی که عضو خانواده بانفوذ عربستان باشه، نمی‌تونه واقعیت وضع مردم و زنان کشور رو بفهمه، چه برسه به این که به بقیه هم نشون بده.
این کتاب متاثر از دیدگاه نویسنده نیست؛ تمامش دیدگاه نویسنده ست.
پ‌ن: یعنی عروس خانواده بن‌لادن‌ها باشی، شوهرت هم یسلام باشه که حرفش خریدار داره، هر کاری هم می‌گی انجام بده، بعد تنها کاری که می‌تونی انجام بدی امیدوار بودن به آینده باشه؟ چه می‌دونیم...
May 10, 2018
کتاب خوبی بود و تجربه زندگی در آل سعود و آشنا شدهن به جهالت و ....
March 13, 2012
الكتاب يتحدث عن تجربة السيدة كارمن في الحياة في المملكة العربية السعودية مع زوجها السعودي يسلم بن لادن حيث عايشت فترة ما قبل الطفرة وفترة الطفرة وفي اعتقادي ان رؤيتها ناقصة وغير منصفة على الشعب السعودي فهي لم تعش مع جميع اطياف الشعب السعودي او تحتك بهم بل عايشت فئة قليلة وطبقة محددة فقط وعممت سلوكهم ومعتقداتهم على الشعب السعودي ككل وهذا في اعتنقادي فيه كثير من التجني وعدم الإنصاف
في النهاية نستطيع ان نعتبر هذا الكتاب تجربة لغربية عاشت في المملكة العربية السعودية ويسلط الضوء على اسلوب حياة طبقة معينة من المجتمع السعودي وليس كل المجتمع
في النهاية نستطيع ان نعتبر هذا الكتاب تجربة لغربية عاشت في المملكة العربية السعودية ويسلط الضوء على اسلوب حياة طبقة معينة من المجتمع السعودي وليس كل المجتمع
June 5, 2009
They should republish this book with the by-line:
"Rich House Wives of Saudi Arabia"
"Rich House Wives of Saudi Arabia"
October 23, 2019
کارمن، دختر نیمه ایرانی که مادرش از اشراف زادگان بوده است، به همسری «ایسلام بن لادن» درمی‌آید. با تمام فراز و نشیب‌ها، او مدت‌ها در میان این خانواده مقتدر عرب در دل صحرای عربستان زندگی می‌کند و اکنون پس از گذشت سالها، آن زمان را به «موقعیتی قرون وسطایی در قلب صحرا با دلارهای بی‌حساب» تشبیه می‌کند. او شرح میدهد که چگونه به یک عرب سعودی ثروتمند که در ژنو فرانسه ملاقات می‌کند، دل می‌سپارد و آنگاه پس از روزهای سعادت و شادکامی، با واقعیت تلخ زندگی در داخل یک خانواده مقتدر سعودی روبه‌رو می‌شود. کارمن بن لادن در این کتاب از خاطرات زیبای کودکی و دوران تلخ زندگی مشترک می‌گوید. اما پس از حادثه یازده سپتامبر که نام خانوادگی بن‌لادن را به همه دنیا شناساند، تعبیر دیگری از این خانواده و حاکمان عرب دارد: «سعودیها طالبان‌هایی در ناز و نعمت هستند!»
.
.
او نُه سال زندگی مشترک خود را در یک جامعه مرد سالار به ترتیب زمان نقل می‌کند. جامعه‌ای که به اعتقاد او در آن زن‌ها چیزی جز حیوانات خانگی نیستند. کتاب به سبک یک دفترچه خاطرات است. شرحی است از تلاش‌ها و تقلاهای بی‌وفقه او برای تطبیق یافتن با قوانین و محدودیت‌هایی که به اندازه هوای صحرای عربستان خفقان‌آور است. اکنون نویسنده بعد از آن حادثه تلخ، شجاعانه افشای حقیقت را برگزیده. از نظر او افشاگری تنها راه جنگ علیه وحشت است. معاملات غیرآبرومند، جنگ قدرت بین برادرها، ارتباط با خانواده سلطنتی و ... تنها پاره‌ای از اسرار مقتدرترین خانواده عربستان است که کارمن پرده از آنها برمی‌دارد. نویسنده ما را با خود به قلب طبقه حاکم عربستان سعودی و خانواده بن لادن می‌برد. یک موقعیت قرون وسطایی در قلب صحرا که فقط دلار به آن افزوده شده است. او از خانواده بن لادن می‌گریزد، برای نجات فرزندانش (وفا، ناجیه، نور) می‌جنگد، و علنا اُسامه را محکوم و از عربستان سعودی انتقاد می‌کند.
.
.
او نُه سال زندگی مشترک خود را در یک جامعه مرد سالار به ترتیب زمان نقل می‌کند. جامعه‌ای که به اعتقاد او در آن زن‌ها چیزی جز حیوانات خانگی نیستند. کتاب به سبک یک دفترچه خاطرات است. شرحی است از تلاش‌ها و تقلاهای بی‌وفقه او برای تطبیق یافتن با قوانین و محدودیت‌هایی که به اندازه هوای صحرای عربستان خفقان‌آور است. اکنون نویسنده بعد از آن حادثه تلخ، شجاعانه افشای حقیقت را برگزیده. از نظر او افشاگری تنها راه جنگ علیه وحشت است. معاملات غیرآبرومند، جنگ قدرت بین برادرها، ارتباط با خانواده سلطنتی و ... تنها پاره‌ای از اسرار مقتدرترین خانواده عربستان است که کارمن پرده از آنها برمی‌دارد. نویسنده ما را با خود به قلب طبقه حاکم عربستان سعودی و خانواده بن لادن می‌برد. یک موقعیت قرون وسطایی در قلب صحرا که فقط دلار به آن افزوده شده است. او از خانواده بن لادن می‌گریزد، برای نجات فرزندانش (وفا، ناجیه، نور) می‌جنگد، و علنا اُسامه را محکوم و از عربستان سعودی انتقاد می‌کند.
June 25, 2021
متن روون و نسبتا کنجکاو‌کننده‌ای داره، به خصوص که خیلی از زنای ایرانی با محدودیت‌هایی که اوایل کتاب توسط مادر ایرانی نویسنده (حتی در سوئیس) و بعد توسط جامعه‌ی سعودی اعمال میشه اشنا هستند و حتی بهش دامن می‌زنند. اما فصل‌های آخر کتاب بوی سانسور می‌دند، جایی که اسلام جدا از وهابیت عنوان میشه (متاسفانه نتونستم نسخه‌ی انگلیسی کتاب رو پیدا و چک کنم، ممنون می‌شم اگه کسی برام بفرسته.). راوی عیب مشخصی نسبت به خود اسلام بیان نمیکنه، شاید چون مادر و درنتیجه خودش رو مسلمون‌زاده می‌بینه. در این صورت یا با اسلام ایرانی آشنا نیست یا کتاب سانسور شده. در عین حال جز در یک مورد از ایران مدرنیته‌ی قبل از انقلاب تعریف میکنه. (چون خانواده‌ی مادرش اشرافی بودند و در اون قسمت تازه از حال و روز مردم عادی خبردار میشه.)
January 18, 2012
This book was fascinating to read alongside Michael Scheuer's "Osama Bin Laden". Scheuer was head of the CIA's Osama Bin Laden unit from 1996 to 1999. He knows alot about OSB, but more about his book later.
Carmen Bin Ladin married into the Bin Laden family. (If you are noting the spelling difference between "Ladin" and "Laden", they use "bin Ladin" to refer to Carmen and her husband Yeslam, but use "bin Laden" when referring to the family clan.) Her father was Swiss and her mother was Persian (Iranian). She grew up in Switzerland and visited her mother's family in Iran periodically throughout her childhood. She met Yeslam Bin Ladin in Geneva when he and some of his family rented a house from Carmen's mother. Yeslam's mother, a few of his brothers, and his sister lived for that summer in Geneva and Carmen fell in love with Yeslam. Her experiences with the family were all outside of Saudi Arabia. While Carmen had been culturally raised as a Christian, she felt comfortable with the Muslim religion she had seen in her mother's family in Iran.
Carmen agreed to marry Yeslam, and discovered that the King of Saudi Arabia had to give them permission because Yeslam would be marrying a foreigner. The king gave them permission, but he also stipulated that they marry in Jeddah. Her wedding in "the kingdom", for Saudi Arabia is indeed that "kingdom", gave a foreshadowing of the many issues she would have once married and once living in Saudi Arabia. Yeslam and Carmen married in 1974, and then promptly moved to California where Yeslam could pursue his degree at USC. Carmen dropped out of school when she had their first daughter, Wafah. Eventually they had three daughters, but never any sons. Carmen found that their lives were mostly normal.....outside of Saudi Arabia. They fit in, they dressed as westerners, and they even celebrated Christmas.
Family business obligations eventually pulled Yeslam to move them all back to Saudi Arabia in 1976, and the most interesting portion of the book begins here. Carmen found herself living on Kilometer 7, the bin Laden housing complex outside of Jeddah. These houses were built by Mohammed bin Laden for his various wives and their families. Technically married to only 4 wives at a time, a Muslim man can divorce his wife and yet continue to take care of her and the children. Carmen discovered a very intricate and complicated hierarchy among favorite wives, divorced wives, and their children. Because she was a foreigner, she never fit in, and was never really accepted in the clan.
Carmen discovered that "Shopping was for servants. If we needed something, Abdou or another driver would have to be instructed by the houseboy to search for the required item. It wasn't just swimsuits. It was tea, or sanitary napkins -- anything at all. If we didn't like them, he would return with another suitcase full. We would select something, he would go back to the shop with the suitcase, ascertain the price, and return again for the payment." (pg 57)
She also discovered that, "There were no books. There were no theaters, no concerts, no cinemas. There was no reason to go out, and in any case we could not go out; I was not allowed to go for a walk, and legally could not drive." (pg 59)
The attitude held by Carmen's mother-in-law became startlingly clear to her one day, "One day when Wafah was playing with a little half-English school friend, running around the house screaming and wet from the pool.
'Ah, that foreign girl,' snapped Om Yeslam, exasperated. I answered her back rather tersely: 'We are all foreigners to somebody.' 'Not me,' Om Yeslam answered, looking straight at me. 'There is not one drop of Christian blood in me.'
I did have a drop of Christian blood in me -- my father's. And so did the girls. And what Om Yeslam really meant was that I had the determined, willful personality that comes from living as an individual, in the West. She felt that I simply never could bring myself to submit in the proper manner -- to Islam, to the rules of Saudi society, or to my husband. " (pg 167)
Carmen describes her life in Saudi Arabia in terms of slavery. The women there have been taught they are not slaves, but in practice and in daily life, they are indeed slaves. They can be divorced and thrown away by their husband with no recourse. She describes Saudi Arabia and the Wahabi version of Islam practiced there as "medieval, dark with sin and interdiction."
Eventually Carmen comes to fear for the indoctrination her daughters are getting by living in the Saudi world. Her daughters came home with practice Arabic script sentences to practice. The sentences are, "I hate Jews. I love Palestine." She realizes that no matter how she raises them, they will be slaves also in this country because there are no other options for them. She presses Yeslam to move the family to Geneva, and he does. As Yeslam becomes older, he becomes more and more Saudi, even away from his country. He becomes very strict with Carmen while they live in Geneva. When their 3rd daughter is born, Yeslam abandons them. Carmen in retrospect realizes that if she had had a son, she would never have been allowed to leave Saudi Arabia. But Yeslam does not want daughters, so when it seems obvious Carmen will bear him only daughters he feels free to abandon her.
In 1988 Carmen goes through a very nasty decade-long divorce from Yeslam, and eventually wins custody of her daughters. From that day, even when the daughters have seen their father or grandmother in Switzerland, they have never been acknowledged. It is as thought they no longer exist.
In closing, Carmen had this to say about whether the bin Laden clan had rejected Osama bin Ladin. She said on pg 78, "There is a Saudi saying, 'Me and my cousin against the stranger; me and my brother against my cousin.' The clan is the only unit that makes sense."
The bin Ladin clan / family has never rejected Osama. While there are stories and interviews where they denounce the violence he has perpetrated, it is important to know the cultural message that all Saudi's carry with them. "Me and my cousin against the stranger; me and my brother against my cousin."
Carmen Bin Ladin married into the Bin Laden family. (If you are noting the spelling difference between "Ladin" and "Laden", they use "bin Ladin" to refer to Carmen and her husband Yeslam, but use "bin Laden" when referring to the family clan.) Her father was Swiss and her mother was Persian (Iranian). She grew up in Switzerland and visited her mother's family in Iran periodically throughout her childhood. She met Yeslam Bin Ladin in Geneva when he and some of his family rented a house from Carmen's mother. Yeslam's mother, a few of his brothers, and his sister lived for that summer in Geneva and Carmen fell in love with Yeslam. Her experiences with the family were all outside of Saudi Arabia. While Carmen had been culturally raised as a Christian, she felt comfortable with the Muslim religion she had seen in her mother's family in Iran.
Carmen agreed to marry Yeslam, and discovered that the King of Saudi Arabia had to give them permission because Yeslam would be marrying a foreigner. The king gave them permission, but he also stipulated that they marry in Jeddah. Her wedding in "the kingdom", for Saudi Arabia is indeed that "kingdom", gave a foreshadowing of the many issues she would have once married and once living in Saudi Arabia. Yeslam and Carmen married in 1974, and then promptly moved to California where Yeslam could pursue his degree at USC. Carmen dropped out of school when she had their first daughter, Wafah. Eventually they had three daughters, but never any sons. Carmen found that their lives were mostly normal.....outside of Saudi Arabia. They fit in, they dressed as westerners, and they even celebrated Christmas.
Family business obligations eventually pulled Yeslam to move them all back to Saudi Arabia in 1976, and the most interesting portion of the book begins here. Carmen found herself living on Kilometer 7, the bin Laden housing complex outside of Jeddah. These houses were built by Mohammed bin Laden for his various wives and their families. Technically married to only 4 wives at a time, a Muslim man can divorce his wife and yet continue to take care of her and the children. Carmen discovered a very intricate and complicated hierarchy among favorite wives, divorced wives, and their children. Because she was a foreigner, she never fit in, and was never really accepted in the clan.
Carmen discovered that "Shopping was for servants. If we needed something, Abdou or another driver would have to be instructed by the houseboy to search for the required item. It wasn't just swimsuits. It was tea, or sanitary napkins -- anything at all. If we didn't like them, he would return with another suitcase full. We would select something, he would go back to the shop with the suitcase, ascertain the price, and return again for the payment." (pg 57)
She also discovered that, "There were no books. There were no theaters, no concerts, no cinemas. There was no reason to go out, and in any case we could not go out; I was not allowed to go for a walk, and legally could not drive." (pg 59)
The attitude held by Carmen's mother-in-law became startlingly clear to her one day, "One day when Wafah was playing with a little half-English school friend, running around the house screaming and wet from the pool.
'Ah, that foreign girl,' snapped Om Yeslam, exasperated. I answered her back rather tersely: 'We are all foreigners to somebody.' 'Not me,' Om Yeslam answered, looking straight at me. 'There is not one drop of Christian blood in me.'
I did have a drop of Christian blood in me -- my father's. And so did the girls. And what Om Yeslam really meant was that I had the determined, willful personality that comes from living as an individual, in the West. She felt that I simply never could bring myself to submit in the proper manner -- to Islam, to the rules of Saudi society, or to my husband. " (pg 167)
Carmen describes her life in Saudi Arabia in terms of slavery. The women there have been taught they are not slaves, but in practice and in daily life, they are indeed slaves. They can be divorced and thrown away by their husband with no recourse. She describes Saudi Arabia and the Wahabi version of Islam practiced there as "medieval, dark with sin and interdiction."
Eventually Carmen comes to fear for the indoctrination her daughters are getting by living in the Saudi world. Her daughters came home with practice Arabic script sentences to practice. The sentences are, "I hate Jews. I love Palestine." She realizes that no matter how she raises them, they will be slaves also in this country because there are no other options for them. She presses Yeslam to move the family to Geneva, and he does. As Yeslam becomes older, he becomes more and more Saudi, even away from his country. He becomes very strict with Carmen while they live in Geneva. When their 3rd daughter is born, Yeslam abandons them. Carmen in retrospect realizes that if she had had a son, she would never have been allowed to leave Saudi Arabia. But Yeslam does not want daughters, so when it seems obvious Carmen will bear him only daughters he feels free to abandon her.
In 1988 Carmen goes through a very nasty decade-long divorce from Yeslam, and eventually wins custody of her daughters. From that day, even when the daughters have seen their father or grandmother in Switzerland, they have never been acknowledged. It is as thought they no longer exist.
In closing, Carmen had this to say about whether the bin Laden clan had rejected Osama bin Ladin. She said on pg 78, "There is a Saudi saying, 'Me and my cousin against the stranger; me and my brother against my cousin.' The clan is the only unit that makes sense."
The bin Ladin clan / family has never rejected Osama. While there are stories and interviews where they denounce the violence he has perpetrated, it is important to know the cultural message that all Saudi's carry with them. "Me and my cousin against the stranger; me and my brother against my cousin."
May 7, 2024
دختری جوان که در پی عشق به پول و ثروت با مردی سعودی ازدواج میکنه و راهی عربستان میشه ولی خیلی زود پشیمون میشه و کتابی
مینویسه که بگه همه بدن فقط من خوبم.
ریویو قدیمی :
نویسنده اینو یادش رفته بگه که ثروت یسلام چه نقش بزرگی در ازدواجش داشته. اگه یسلام یه سعودی معمولی بود هم باهاش ازدواج میکرد و میرفت عربستان؟ قطعا نه. پس نویسنده بهتر بود فصل اخر نمیگفت که بخاطر عشق ازدواج کرده. ترجمه خیلی روان بود ولی چون عکسها رو حذف کردید یه ستاره کم میکنم.
مینویسه که بگه همه بدن فقط من خوبم.
ریویو قدیمی :
نویسنده اینو یادش رفته بگه که ثروت یسلام چه نقش بزرگی در ازدواجش داشته. اگه یسلام یه سعودی معمولی بود هم باهاش ازدواج میکرد و میرفت عربستان؟ قطعا نه. پس نویسنده بهتر بود فصل اخر نمیگفت که بخاطر عشق ازدواج کرده. ترجمه خیلی روان بود ولی چون عکسها رو حذف کردید یه ستاره کم میکنم.
December 19, 2008
on Friday, December 19, 2008
Finished it last night (Dec.18) . Guess what I loved her conclusion, the last chapter and she has given me a sentence I want to remember cause I totally agree with it.
They will use our tolerance to infiltrate our society with there intolerance.
This is so true. The Netherlands is well known for its tolerance but it slowly is giving away because we have let so many people into our country who now want us to change and do not like all the freedoms we have!
Now about the book. I've read more books about women in Islamic culture and her life is very mild compared to the others. I think is interesting because she is one of the rich ones , her link to the Osama family , although you hardly hear anything about the main person of that horrible family, and of course the Princes.
Like Rosie i am also going to search for some more info on google now.
Which prince is now in power for instance. Is it the one she mentioned the more conservative one? Abdallah? I see the one reigning is called Abdulah
? 8.5
Finished it last night (Dec.18) . Guess what I loved her conclusion, the last chapter and she has given me a sentence I want to remember cause I totally agree with it.
They will use our tolerance to infiltrate our society with there intolerance.
This is so true. The Netherlands is well known for its tolerance but it slowly is giving away because we have let so many people into our country who now want us to change and do not like all the freedoms we have!
Now about the book. I've read more books about women in Islamic culture and her life is very mild compared to the others. I think is interesting because she is one of the rich ones , her link to the Osama family , although you hardly hear anything about the main person of that horrible family, and of course the Princes.
Like Rosie i am also going to search for some more info on google now.
Which prince is now in power for instance. Is it the one she mentioned the more conservative one? Abdallah? I see the one reigning is called Abdulah
? 8.5
December 7, 2014
بى نظيره،، سالها پيش خوندم و هنوز من در ذهنم هست
November 26, 2018
۹۷
یه داستان واقعیه و خوندنش برام جالب بود.
کارمن شوهرش را دوست داشت ولی سعی کرده بود توجهش به دارایی و اموال شوهرش به عنوان یکی از دلایل ادامه دادن باهاش را پنهان کنه.
یه داستان واقعیه و خوندنش برام جالب بود.
کارمن شوهرش را دوست داشت ولی سعی کرده بود توجهش به دارایی و اموال شوهرش به عنوان یکی از دلایل ادامه دادن باهاش را پنهان کنه.
May 21, 2013
I was intrigued by who the author was/is which is why I decided to read the book. Over all the book was ok; I expected more and was a bit disappointed. On the positiv, I learned a few things - the book provides a rare look into the personal lives of women and Saudi Arabian culture during the oil boom. The negative – the author keeps her experiences/stories very PC and rather general, there’s no “meat” to her stories or experiences. The book is not very well written (don’t expect literary genius), oddly paced and repetitive.
December 7, 2014
ين كتاب سرگذشت كارمن بن لادن دختر دورگه ايراني سوئدي است كه مادري از اشراف زادگان ايران داشته وپدرش سوئدي بوده ..او به همسري بن لادن در مي ايد وسالها در صحرا ودر ميان خانواده بن لادن زندگي ميكند وسختي ها ورنجهاي زيادي را به سان زنان عصر حجر متحمل ميشود ..او زندگي در صحرا را مانند زندگي در قرون وسطي ولي با دلار هاي بي حساب تشبيه ميكند ..او ابتدا از دوران خوش كودكي خويش ميگويد وسپس از ازدواج ودوران تلخ و وحشتناك خود در ميان خانواده سلطنتي سعودي وسپس زندگي در ميان فرقه طالبان ..كتاب بسيار بسيار قشنگ وخواندني است
March 8, 2015
This book gave me of an insight to the Saudi culture for women and the Saudi way of life, religion, politics, etc. I am sure it is biased. Aren't all memoirs?
However, I enjoyed learning more about a culture that is so different. I found it sad and quite frightening - for the women and for the world. I always wondered who was financing the Taliban and all of the extremists. An interesting read.
However, I enjoyed learning more about a culture that is so different. I found it sad and quite frightening - for the women and for the world. I always wondered who was financing the Taliban and all of the extremists. An interesting read.
April 6, 2019
زندگي نامه جذاب و پر مخاطره كارمن زني دو رگه از پدري سويسي و مادري ايراني كه بر حسب اتفاق با برادر اسامه بن لادن ازدواج مي كند. كارمن كه در سويس بزرگ شده و در آنجا زندگي كرده بود بعد از ازداج با يسلام بن لادن مدتي در آمريكا به سر مي برند و بعد به جده مي رود در آنجا داستان هاي جذاب با محدوديت هاي عجيب براي زنان در عربستان روبرو مي شود. حاصل اين ازدواج سه دختر است ولي در نهايت اين ازدواج با دشواري هرچه تمام به جدايي مي انجامد.
May 10, 2015
Although naive in her thinking that Saudi Arabia would become a more progressive country, she had reason to believe so in the 70s. With money flowing into the country with a snowball effect, as a Westernized woman she was seeing things on the outside and not really understanding the Saudi mindset.
This book takes you through her journey of love, hope, family, and finally reality and sorrow. It gives you insight to the Bin Laden family matrix and the protocols that this privileged family lived by.
Indeed it was not far off the mark for the day to day conformities of even present day Saudi Arabia as there has been little change there, or anywhere else in the mid east.
Sadly, being true to herself, she could not bring herself to observe the submissive role women play in Islam; nor maintain and respect the role that women performed in their day to day lives. Thus she was always the outsider and "the foreigner".
Being married to the more moderate Yeslam Bin Ladin, she was allowed freedoms other Saudi woman did not. Nor did they understand why she wanted to do the things that she did.
It finally comes down to her realization that this country will always be the same to some degree or other, not because of the reigning person at any time. But more how the very deepest beliefs of it's people are almost genetically medieval and completely ingrained into their person.
Wahhabism is the most Sharia based sect of Islam and being a Wahabi Muslim leaves no room for progression or change.
This book takes you through her journey of love, hope, family, and finally reality and sorrow. It gives you insight to the Bin Laden family matrix and the protocols that this privileged family lived by.
Indeed it was not far off the mark for the day to day conformities of even present day Saudi Arabia as there has been little change there, or anywhere else in the mid east.
Sadly, being true to herself, she could not bring herself to observe the submissive role women play in Islam; nor maintain and respect the role that women performed in their day to day lives. Thus she was always the outsider and "the foreigner".
Being married to the more moderate Yeslam Bin Ladin, she was allowed freedoms other Saudi woman did not. Nor did they understand why she wanted to do the things that she did.
It finally comes down to her realization that this country will always be the same to some degree or other, not because of the reigning person at any time. But more how the very deepest beliefs of it's people are almost genetically medieval and completely ingrained into their person.
Wahhabism is the most Sharia based sect of Islam and being a Wahabi Muslim leaves no room for progression or change.
April 3, 2019
کتابی که اطلاعات بسیاار جالب توجهی را از کشوری به ادم میدهد که شاید تا چندین سال اینده کتابی از نویسنده ی بومی ان کشور منتشر نشود و ما را از فرهنگ پنهان شده ی ان با خبر نخواهد کرد..با این حال کتاب صداقت کلام و صمیمیت واقعی سایر کتاب های بیوگرافی ای که تا به حال خواندم را نداشت و حتی در همان ۵ صفحه ب اول میتوان متوجه شد که قصد نگارش کتاب تنها تبرئه کردن نویسنده و دخترانش از نقش داشتن در حادثه ی ۱۱ سپتامبر است که از لطف خواندنش میکاهد
September 17, 2016
have always been vary of books written by western females about life in the middle east in general & Saudi Arabia in particular. It looks like before even sitting down to write they have already decided to portray females as weak, headless, powerless servant like figures whose senses have long left their moorings.
However when i came across this book , it seemed full of analytical insights into the life of Osama, the once dreaded Al Qaeda mastermind. But as i started reading i realized that it was more to do with the authors perception & judgemental commentary about her life in KSA than about Osama himself
I liked her flow of prose; her observation about how half of Saudi population ( the females) where behind walls was spot on however i found a lot of misinformation passed over as fact, the key discrepancies which i found unsettling where
Women in arabic means (nissa) نساء not hurmah (derivative of haram/sin) as she claims
Islam does mean submission of desires to the will of god & not subservience to another human being
If the father dies leaving behind just daughters & the wife then the wife would inherit 1/8th of the wealth of her deceased husband & daughters (2 or more) would share 2/3rd of the wealth equally amongst them.
She describes Abaya a foolish inconvenience ignoring the religious significance it holds for practisisng muslims
A woman can initiate divorce on grounds of unislamic behaviour like adultery & fornication , unlike what she has purported
These glitches from a muslim author are surprising. At least before writing it she should have done some background research.
Even though she had to quit school during her pregnancy & rest. However later she continuously portrays herself as someone who put herself aside so that Yesalam could move forward.
i did at many times feel empathy for her. A Half persian-half christian lady maneuvering her ways in an alien culture, country & language. Talking to females who hadn’t read anything other than the holy book, discussed nothing beyond cooking & had no activity other than shopping or hosting parties must have been a nightmare.
However her analysis & generalisation of the whole female population as being manipulative, blindly following someone they denigrate , shopaholic & jealous lot is stretching it beyond reality.
Her observation of woman in KSA as beings living in isolation , obedience & fear of divorce isn’t region specific phenomena.
Her clinical comment on how Saudi women had bone density problems & exercise( due to lack of sunlight), heat problem (over eating) & psychosomatic problems all attributed to just being out of control of their lives without quoting any research or presenting any data was hard to belive. Also attributing lesbian relationship amongst Saudi women to gender restriction isn’t very logical. There are no such restrictions elsewhere yet lesbians are everywhere
She does correctly observe that extremists fashioned by intolerant & medieval society are taking the world by storm. But she forgets to mention who brought money & ammunition into the system during the afghan war. It was the USA, & once the war got over the stooges decided to bite the hand that fed them
She finds it unimaginable how the extremists aren’t able to separate Shariah from religious beliefs. She can’t fathom how the WEST can change & question outdated laws & muslims cant; totally unmindful of the fact that the Sharia law comes from a combination of sources including the Qur’an , theHadith (sayings and conduct of the prophet Muhammad) and fatwas (the rulings of Islamic scholars) while the Western laws are man made & hence prone to error & misjudgement
On the whole i liked to read her story but i wouldnt recommend it to anyone . I rate it at 2/5
However when i came across this book , it seemed full of analytical insights into the life of Osama, the once dreaded Al Qaeda mastermind. But as i started reading i realized that it was more to do with the authors perception & judgemental commentary about her life in KSA than about Osama himself
I liked her flow of prose; her observation about how half of Saudi population ( the females) where behind walls was spot on however i found a lot of misinformation passed over as fact, the key discrepancies which i found unsettling where
Women in arabic means (nissa) نساء not hurmah (derivative of haram/sin) as she claims
Islam does mean submission of desires to the will of god & not subservience to another human being
If the father dies leaving behind just daughters & the wife then the wife would inherit 1/8th of the wealth of her deceased husband & daughters (2 or more) would share 2/3rd of the wealth equally amongst them.
She describes Abaya a foolish inconvenience ignoring the religious significance it holds for practisisng muslims
A woman can initiate divorce on grounds of unislamic behaviour like adultery & fornication , unlike what she has purported
These glitches from a muslim author are surprising. At least before writing it she should have done some background research.
Even though she had to quit school during her pregnancy & rest. However later she continuously portrays herself as someone who put herself aside so that Yesalam could move forward.
i did at many times feel empathy for her. A Half persian-half christian lady maneuvering her ways in an alien culture, country & language. Talking to females who hadn’t read anything other than the holy book, discussed nothing beyond cooking & had no activity other than shopping or hosting parties must have been a nightmare.
However her analysis & generalisation of the whole female population as being manipulative, blindly following someone they denigrate , shopaholic & jealous lot is stretching it beyond reality.
Her observation of woman in KSA as beings living in isolation , obedience & fear of divorce isn’t region specific phenomena.
Her clinical comment on how Saudi women had bone density problems & exercise( due to lack of sunlight), heat problem (over eating) & psychosomatic problems all attributed to just being out of control of their lives without quoting any research or presenting any data was hard to belive. Also attributing lesbian relationship amongst Saudi women to gender restriction isn’t very logical. There are no such restrictions elsewhere yet lesbians are everywhere
She does correctly observe that extremists fashioned by intolerant & medieval society are taking the world by storm. But she forgets to mention who brought money & ammunition into the system during the afghan war. It was the USA, & once the war got over the stooges decided to bite the hand that fed them
She finds it unimaginable how the extremists aren’t able to separate Shariah from religious beliefs. She can’t fathom how the WEST can change & question outdated laws & muslims cant; totally unmindful of the fact that the Sharia law comes from a combination of sources including the Qur’an , theHadith (sayings and conduct of the prophet Muhammad) and fatwas (the rulings of Islamic scholars) while the Western laws are man made & hence prone to error & misjudgement
On the whole i liked to read her story but i wouldnt recommend it to anyone . I rate it at 2/5
July 7, 2017
السيرة الذاتية للسويسرية كارمن زوجة "يسلم بن لادن" شقيق أسامة بن لادن، والتي تبلغ من العمر الآن اثنين وستين عاماً، أما وقت نشر هذا الكتاب فكانت في الخمسين. وبما أنها ليست كاتبة محترفة فقد كتبته بمساعدة من روث مارشال.
أنهيت الكتاب في ثمانية وأربعين ساعة، وبقي يشغل تفكيري لفترة واستمتعت بالتفكير به وتحليل أحداثه. يستحق خمسة نجوم عن جدارة واستحقاق. سأسرد مميزاته على شكل نقاط:
*أنا مغرمة بالسير الذاتية، وتأتي عندي في المرتبة الثانية بعد الروايات. قرأت سيراً ذاتية للعديد من الناجحين ومنهم كُتّاب كبار، إلا أن هذه السيرة امتازت بالسلاسة البالغة وبساطة السرد، والتشويق.
*أعجبتني النظرة التأملية التي نجحت كارمن في إلقائهاعلى حياتها بعد هذا العمر. وامتازت بالذاكرة القوية للعديد من الأحداث. امتازت أيضا بالإنصاف، فرغم انفصالها عن زوجها إلا أنها ذكرت العديد والعديد من مميزاته. وذكرت الأحداث التي أدت إلى طلاقهما بدون مسكنة، وبدون أن تحاول لعب دور الضحية كما تفعل العديد من المطلقات.
*لم يرد اسم أسامة في الكتاب أكثر من عشر مرات على الأكثر، فهذا الكتاب هو سيرة حياة كارمن نفسها.
*في هذا الكتاب تشجع كارمن المرأة السعودية بشكل خاص، والمرأة بشكل عام، على أن تنظر لنفسها كإنسان كامل، يمتلك عقلاً ومشاعر وموهبة، وليست مجرد تابع.
*ذكرتني هذه السيرة بحديث الرسول (ص): إن المنبت لا أرضاً قطع ولا ظهراً أبقى. فللأسف كان في الكتاب كثير من الخلط بين التقاليد السعودية والتعاليم الإسلامية الصحيحة، لكنني لا أستطيع لومها فهذا ما رأته وعايشته.
في النهاية أعتبر أن هذا الكتاب أثّر فيّ وألهمني. أنصح الجميع بقراءته.
أنهيت الكتاب في ثمانية وأربعين ساعة، وبقي يشغل تفكيري لفترة واستمتعت بالتفكير به وتحليل أحداثه. يستحق خمسة نجوم عن جدارة واستحقاق. سأسرد مميزاته على شكل نقاط:
*أنا مغرمة بالسير الذاتية، وتأتي عندي في المرتبة الثانية بعد الروايات. قرأت سيراً ذاتية للعديد من الناجحين ومنهم كُتّاب كبار، إلا أن هذه السيرة امتازت بالسلاسة البالغة وبساطة السرد، والتشويق.
*أعجبتني النظرة التأملية التي نجحت كارمن في إلقائهاعلى حياتها بعد هذا العمر. وامتازت بالذاكرة القوية للعديد من الأحداث. امتازت أيضا بالإنصاف، فرغم انفصالها عن زوجها إلا أنها ذكرت العديد والعديد من مميزاته. وذكرت الأحداث التي أدت إلى طلاقهما بدون مسكنة، وبدون أن تحاول لعب دور الضحية كما تفعل العديد من المطلقات.
*لم يرد اسم أسامة في الكتاب أكثر من عشر مرات على الأكثر، فهذا الكتاب هو سيرة حياة كارمن نفسها.
*في هذا الكتاب تشجع كارمن المرأة السعودية بشكل خاص، والمرأة بشكل عام، على أن تنظر لنفسها كإنسان كامل، يمتلك عقلاً ومشاعر وموهبة، وليست مجرد تابع.
*ذكرتني هذه السيرة بحديث الرسول (ص): إن المنبت لا أرضاً قطع ولا ظهراً أبقى. فللأسف كان في الكتاب كثير من الخلط بين التقاليد السعودية والتعاليم الإسلامية الصحيحة، لكنني لا أستطيع لومها فهذا ما رأته وعايشته.
في النهاية أعتبر أن هذا الكتاب أثّر فيّ وألهمني. أنصح الجميع بقراءته.
September 10, 2014
کتابی هست که نویسنده ی آن با نثر روان زندگی یک زن و مادر خارجی در عربستان سعودی رو خیلی زیبا توضیح میده تقریبا به این نتیجه رسیده که باوجود این همه سرمایه و پول سرسام آور نفتی که در جیب سعودی ها سرریز میشه با اینحال جامعه سعودی مدام رو به عقب میره و بیشتر به این دلیل هست که در آن کشور دین وهابیت قانون مطلق به حساب میاد و به دلیل پایبندی به وهابیت، آل سعود هیچ بهره ایی از نعمت آزادی در اندیشه و انتخاب نمیبرند
زنان آل سعود در همه جا در خانه و خیابان و خانواده و مکان های دیگه به نوعی زندانی مردان و اعتقادات و مذهب و قدرتند.
در واقع بدلیل اینکه اصول فرهنگی و اعتقادات آل سعود از کودکی در اونها نفوذ میکنه به این نوع زندگی خو
گرفتن
خیلی از سعودیها مثله اسامه فکر میکنن، مردم غرب در نظر اونها موجوداتی منحط و بی ریشه هستن که در تعلقات مادی و هوی و هوسهای دنیوی راه گم کردن
این خیل مرتجعین خشمگین ، مثل نوجوانهای بی تجربه ، ساده ترین راه رو ، نابود کردن غرب میدونن
فردا سالگرد 11 سپتامبر هست امیدوارم این دست کتابها باعث بشه مردم اطلاعات و علمشون بیشتر شه و
چیزی رو بی دلیل قبول نکنن و آزاد باشند و به آزادی مردم احترام بگذارند
کتاب خوبی بود اما به نظر کمی غرض ورزی کارمن رو در خصوص شوهر سابق و خانوادش نشون میداد
زنان آل سعود در همه جا در خانه و خیابان و خانواده و مکان های دیگه به نوعی زندانی مردان و اعتقادات و مذهب و قدرتند.
در واقع بدلیل اینکه اصول فرهنگی و اعتقادات آل سعود از کودکی در اونها نفوذ میکنه به این نوع زندگی خو
گرفتن
خیلی از سعودیها مثله اسامه فکر میکنن، مردم غرب در نظر اونها موجوداتی منحط و بی ریشه هستن که در تعلقات مادی و هوی و هوسهای دنیوی راه گم کردن
این خیل مرتجعین خشمگین ، مثل نوجوانهای بی تجربه ، ساده ترین راه رو ، نابود کردن غرب میدونن
فردا سالگرد 11 سپتامبر هست امیدوارم این دست کتابها باعث بشه مردم اطلاعات و علمشون بیشتر شه و
چیزی رو بی دلیل قبول نکنن و آزاد باشند و به آزادی مردم احترام بگذارند
کتاب خوبی بود اما به نظر کمی غرض ورزی کارمن رو در خصوص شوهر سابق و خانوادش نشون میداد
November 8, 2007
كارمن بن لادن، همسر يسلم برادر بزرگتر اسامه بن لادن، زنى نيمه ايرانى و متولد سوئيس است كه در سال ١٩٧٤ پس از ازدواج با مردی از خانواده بن لادن براى زندگى به عربستان سعودى مى رود. با زندگى در اين كشور كارمن به مرور از قوانين عربستان سعودى در مورد زن و خانواده آگاه مى شود. در اين كتاب خواندنى كارمن بن لادن از زندگى خود در ميان زنان خانواده بن لادن و آنچه در دل و ذهن اين زنان كه با داشتن مجموعه اى از لباس هاى گرانقيمت حق خروج از خانه را ندارند و اختيار زندگى شان دربست به دست شوهرانشان است، مى نويسد. کارمن با روايت تلاش هايش براى حفظ زندگى زناشويى و آموختن ارزش هاى مدرن و برابرى طلبانه به سه دخترش، به شرح تجربه زندگى با خانواده شوهرش و روابط نزديک آنها با خانواده سلطنتى عربستان سعودى مى پردازد. او در سال ١٩٨٨ از شوهرش جدا شده و مبارزه سختى را براى پس گرفتن فرزندانش شروع كرده است. اين كتاب شرح شجاعانه زندگى يك زن است در درون قلمرو يكى از پر قدرت ترين كشورهاى جهان.
October 9, 2008
George Bush and every personel milliter also CIA must read this book:D !!! Carmen give the good answer how to caugth Osama Bin Laden. "Just stop it all of money flow from Saudi Arabia to Osama, whereas the Osama hidden!" ;)
Because without money from Saudi Arabia, Osama couldn't continued his war. This book so clear description the life style of Kingdom Saudi Arabia family, also how the act to women, as like as their property.
Carmen write with so brave and told the truth about what ever happen inside the kingdom wall.
Because without money from Saudi Arabia, Osama couldn't continued his war. This book so clear description the life style of Kingdom Saudi Arabia family, also how the act to women, as like as their property.
Carmen write with so brave and told the truth about what ever happen inside the kingdom wall.
January 29, 2008
I'm very interested in reading books that help me understand the middle east. This interesting book about Carmen Bin Laden's life while inside the Bin Laden family helped my knowledge base. Carmen fell in love with a rich Saudi, young man, that she met in Geneva. She was not prepared for living the very repressive female role that is necessary in Saudi Arabia. She sheds some light on Osama Bin Laden. Carmen eventually leaves her husband, his family, & fights to retain her daughters.
November 28, 2018
What an opportunity to have a glimpse of the inside of the Bin Ladin family.
June 15, 2019
In 1973 Carmen met Yeslam and all seemed right with the world. It was a carefree time when being young, gorgeous and in love must have seemed like the peak of human achievement. Carmen was the daughter of a Persian mother and a Swiss father and had spent her childhood shuttling between the sterile safety of Switzerland and the unreal world of spoiled family visits to pre-Revolutionary Iran. Yeslam was just the handsome, intelligent, amusing, well-off guy with whom she fell in love. She never really thought about what it meant to be in love with a member of one of Saudi Arabia's most powerful families at a time when only the Saudi Royal family carried more clout and influence than the family of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Laden.
It's hard to imagine a more conversation-stopping name than Bin Laden. Short of introducing yourself as Mrs Hitler, there's probably no surname that would carry a heavier burden today.
Yeslam was son number 10 of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Laden but with more business training and common sense than many of his older brothers, he became a lynch-pin in the family organisation, one of the world's largest construction firms. When Yeslam and Carmen married she tells us they were not particularly wealthy by family standards with just 15 million dollars or so (gulp) but this increased to around the half billion mark as his business interests grew. Whilst Carmen could go to Paris and pick up $60,000 dresses without having to think about the costs, there seemed little point when she was living in a land where she couldn't leave the house alone and uncovered.
The story is simply – girl meets boy, falls in love, marries him......and goes to live in Saudi Arabia. That's where everything gets bizarre. If you've ever read 'The Handmaid's Tale', Margaret Atwood's classic story of a dystopian future in which women exist only as the possessions of men, you'll recognise that the naming of mothers as merely 'Om Yeslam' or 'Om Obama' – i.e. mother of Yeslam or mother of Obama – isn't so far from Atwood's characters Offred and Ofglen being named according to who 'owns' them. The surreal world of Saudi high society is far more bizarre than even the best writers of fiction could imagine.
On September 11th 2001 Carmen and her daughters were in Switzerland, driving along the road when they heard the news of the attacks on New York. Her eldest daughter lived in the USA and had just graduated and was visiting her mother and sisters. Carmen knew instantly that her brother-in-law was behind the attacks and that carrying the name Bin Ladin was a dangerous thing. As the only Bin Ladin/Laden with a telephone number listed in Europe, she was soon the target of journalists the world over. At that time she was separated from but still technically married to Yeslam Bin Ladin. Soon the lawyer handling her divorce case dropped her and her daughters – the Bin Ladin name was just too much to handle.
It took Carmen 14 years to win freedom from the Bin Ladin family and Saudi society for herself and her daughters. She's very discreet about the divorce and says little negative about her husband (just that he became more distant) but she's clearly a very lucky, very brave and very relieved woman to have escaped from the clutches of the Bin Ladens. In writing 'The Veiled Kingdom', she set out to lift the lid on what life in Saudi Arabia as a member of the privileged Bin Laden family had been like and to establish that she and her daughters wanted nothing to do with her ex-husband and his relatives, most specifically his younger brother Osama.
She must have taken great risks with her personal safety and that of her three daughters – risks that only become apparent to us as readers as we get deeper into her account of life in a gilded but rather tacky Saudi Arabian cage.
With a carefree life of freedom behind her and a relatively progressive and supportive husband, Carmen struggles for all the little independences and freedoms that her sisters-in-law don't have; to talk directly to the workmen who are messing up the laying of her carpets without being told “I don't take orders from women”, to be able to greet a brother-in-law at the door without first covering her face, to not have to send her daughters to a school where they are taught to hate Jews and to want to destroy Israel even though they don't know where Israel is or who Jews are and to be able to walk across the street to visit a relative without having to be driven there.
If you're going to marry a Saudi, it's undeniably better to marry a wealthy one whose name can open doors and prevent the customs people checking your parcels too closely and one who can afford to take you out of the country for a few months every year. Even so, it's clear that no amount of money can buy what Carmen wanted – to give her daughters a western life, to not have to hide her thoughts from others, and to have control of her own life.
Osama Bin Laden was not someone she spent much time with and despite his name being the reason for her book, he's not someone who appears very often in the book. Most of the family looked up to him for being so religious but didn't particularly want to spend too much time with him which seemed pretty understandable to me. She recounts one tale of a family visit to the mountains in the heat of the summer whilst her daughter and one of Osama's sons were both young babies. Her daughter was constantly drinking water from a bottle whilst Osama's wife was crying because her tiny son wouldn't take water from a spoon. Carmen offered her a spare bottle but the wife refused. This little boy was at genuine risk of death through dehydration because his father pronounced that using a rubber teat was haram (forbidden). This is only one of myriad examples in the book of absurd adherence to the Wahabi form of Islam, a version of the religion that aspires to bring back the rules of the 7th Century. There's other abuse that's not about religion but more about control – when Carmen is pregnant the third time, Yeslam insists that she abort the foetus because he only wants two children. Carmen's free thinking Westernised husband is getting lost under the influence of life in Saudi Arabia.
You might expect a form of sisterhood between the wives but none seems to exist. Carmen had particular problems relating to the seemingly passive but very manipulative Saudi-born wives. Which woman would trust another woman when her husband can divorce her on a whim and take her children away? Carmen recounts tales of women getting divorced and losing all contact with their children – even one losing her son to kidnappers sent by their father. And who can forget the Saudi princess murdered under the instructions of her grandfather for refusing a forced marriage to a much older man – that was the event that caused a scandal when British television aired the documentary 'Death of a Princess' way back in the 1970s.
During her early years in Saudi, Carmen just assumed that these extreme ways were a phase, something that would pass. Surely as oil money flooded the country it would bring with it more relaxed attitudes and behaviour. Sadly she was wrong. Instead, the aftershock of the 1979 Iranian Revolution rippled through the country bringing about ever more repression and aggressive attacks from the religious police. Rather than become freer, many women started to wear thick black gloves to cover even their hands.
I could go on – the book is just stuffed with examples that will make you gasp with horror about how a country that likes to appear civilised can abuse other human beings. Read it and you'll see what I mean. And whilst I've reviewed other books about Saudi – The Consequences of Love by Suleiman Addonia and Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea for example - there is something special in having a no-holds-barred honest account of what it's like to be an outsider caught inside an extreme system.
Carmen's writing is simple, straightforward, honest and without airs and graces. You can't help but feel that despite the shocking things she's written, there must have been many worse things left unwritten to protect the people involved. Stylistically it's a simple read but content-wise it's far from being an easy one. My prejudices about the Saudi Arabian system have long been fixed and this book only reinforced my attitude to this abhorrent regime. I applaud Carmen for being brave enough to tell us what she lived through – and strongly suggest she consider changing her name as soon as she can.
It's hard to imagine a more conversation-stopping name than Bin Laden. Short of introducing yourself as Mrs Hitler, there's probably no surname that would carry a heavier burden today.
Yeslam was son number 10 of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Laden but with more business training and common sense than many of his older brothers, he became a lynch-pin in the family organisation, one of the world's largest construction firms. When Yeslam and Carmen married she tells us they were not particularly wealthy by family standards with just 15 million dollars or so (gulp) but this increased to around the half billion mark as his business interests grew. Whilst Carmen could go to Paris and pick up $60,000 dresses without having to think about the costs, there seemed little point when she was living in a land where she couldn't leave the house alone and uncovered.
The story is simply – girl meets boy, falls in love, marries him......and goes to live in Saudi Arabia. That's where everything gets bizarre. If you've ever read 'The Handmaid's Tale', Margaret Atwood's classic story of a dystopian future in which women exist only as the possessions of men, you'll recognise that the naming of mothers as merely 'Om Yeslam' or 'Om Obama' – i.e. mother of Yeslam or mother of Obama – isn't so far from Atwood's characters Offred and Ofglen being named according to who 'owns' them. The surreal world of Saudi high society is far more bizarre than even the best writers of fiction could imagine.
On September 11th 2001 Carmen and her daughters were in Switzerland, driving along the road when they heard the news of the attacks on New York. Her eldest daughter lived in the USA and had just graduated and was visiting her mother and sisters. Carmen knew instantly that her brother-in-law was behind the attacks and that carrying the name Bin Ladin was a dangerous thing. As the only Bin Ladin/Laden with a telephone number listed in Europe, she was soon the target of journalists the world over. At that time she was separated from but still technically married to Yeslam Bin Ladin. Soon the lawyer handling her divorce case dropped her and her daughters – the Bin Ladin name was just too much to handle.
It took Carmen 14 years to win freedom from the Bin Ladin family and Saudi society for herself and her daughters. She's very discreet about the divorce and says little negative about her husband (just that he became more distant) but she's clearly a very lucky, very brave and very relieved woman to have escaped from the clutches of the Bin Ladens. In writing 'The Veiled Kingdom', she set out to lift the lid on what life in Saudi Arabia as a member of the privileged Bin Laden family had been like and to establish that she and her daughters wanted nothing to do with her ex-husband and his relatives, most specifically his younger brother Osama.
She must have taken great risks with her personal safety and that of her three daughters – risks that only become apparent to us as readers as we get deeper into her account of life in a gilded but rather tacky Saudi Arabian cage.
With a carefree life of freedom behind her and a relatively progressive and supportive husband, Carmen struggles for all the little independences and freedoms that her sisters-in-law don't have; to talk directly to the workmen who are messing up the laying of her carpets without being told “I don't take orders from women”, to be able to greet a brother-in-law at the door without first covering her face, to not have to send her daughters to a school where they are taught to hate Jews and to want to destroy Israel even though they don't know where Israel is or who Jews are and to be able to walk across the street to visit a relative without having to be driven there.
If you're going to marry a Saudi, it's undeniably better to marry a wealthy one whose name can open doors and prevent the customs people checking your parcels too closely and one who can afford to take you out of the country for a few months every year. Even so, it's clear that no amount of money can buy what Carmen wanted – to give her daughters a western life, to not have to hide her thoughts from others, and to have control of her own life.
Osama Bin Laden was not someone she spent much time with and despite his name being the reason for her book, he's not someone who appears very often in the book. Most of the family looked up to him for being so religious but didn't particularly want to spend too much time with him which seemed pretty understandable to me. She recounts one tale of a family visit to the mountains in the heat of the summer whilst her daughter and one of Osama's sons were both young babies. Her daughter was constantly drinking water from a bottle whilst Osama's wife was crying because her tiny son wouldn't take water from a spoon. Carmen offered her a spare bottle but the wife refused. This little boy was at genuine risk of death through dehydration because his father pronounced that using a rubber teat was haram (forbidden). This is only one of myriad examples in the book of absurd adherence to the Wahabi form of Islam, a version of the religion that aspires to bring back the rules of the 7th Century. There's other abuse that's not about religion but more about control – when Carmen is pregnant the third time, Yeslam insists that she abort the foetus because he only wants two children. Carmen's free thinking Westernised husband is getting lost under the influence of life in Saudi Arabia.
You might expect a form of sisterhood between the wives but none seems to exist. Carmen had particular problems relating to the seemingly passive but very manipulative Saudi-born wives. Which woman would trust another woman when her husband can divorce her on a whim and take her children away? Carmen recounts tales of women getting divorced and losing all contact with their children – even one losing her son to kidnappers sent by their father. And who can forget the Saudi princess murdered under the instructions of her grandfather for refusing a forced marriage to a much older man – that was the event that caused a scandal when British television aired the documentary 'Death of a Princess' way back in the 1970s.
During her early years in Saudi, Carmen just assumed that these extreme ways were a phase, something that would pass. Surely as oil money flooded the country it would bring with it more relaxed attitudes and behaviour. Sadly she was wrong. Instead, the aftershock of the 1979 Iranian Revolution rippled through the country bringing about ever more repression and aggressive attacks from the religious police. Rather than become freer, many women started to wear thick black gloves to cover even their hands.
I could go on – the book is just stuffed with examples that will make you gasp with horror about how a country that likes to appear civilised can abuse other human beings. Read it and you'll see what I mean. And whilst I've reviewed other books about Saudi – The Consequences of Love by Suleiman Addonia and Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea for example - there is something special in having a no-holds-barred honest account of what it's like to be an outsider caught inside an extreme system.
Carmen's writing is simple, straightforward, honest and without airs and graces. You can't help but feel that despite the shocking things she's written, there must have been many worse things left unwritten to protect the people involved. Stylistically it's a simple read but content-wise it's far from being an easy one. My prejudices about the Saudi Arabian system have long been fixed and this book only reinforced my attitude to this abhorrent regime. I applaud Carmen for being brave enough to tell us what she lived through – and strongly suggest she consider changing her name as soon as she can.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 671 reviews