KARACHI, Pakistan — Whenever you hear the name Osama, your mind probably comes up with an image of a head with a snake-like sneering face.
There’s also that long, long beard, and that turban, that makes him look eerie.
His face is hidden – he’s so unrecognizable – and maybe that’s why the US can’t find him. It’s like looking for a mouse, scurrying away from you.
But how much do we really know about bin Laden? What is his mission? (Surely, there’s more to life than blowing up buildings.) What is his personality like?
The Taliban’s down on its knees; but where is Osama right now?
And the famous one: is he dead or alive?
With all these questions left unanswered, fear nestles in your mind. It makes you feel uneasy and restless.
So my task, right now, is – perhaps not to answer the questions – but to find a way of how to. And we need to look at certain places for these answers.
First, we can compare Osama with Voldemort, the sinister character in J.K. Rowling’s famous Harry Potter series. There are lots of similarities.
Number One: Both are immensely powerful. Voldemort can kill anybody in the wizardry world. He killed Harry’s parents, for example. But not only does he kills, he murders — recall the way he slaughtered poor old Frank in the beginning of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, for example.
Number Two: Both want global domination. Voldermort, for instance, wants to control the wizardry world, as soon as he regains his power. And bin Laden at one point had spread fear throughout the world.
Indeed, Voldemort and Osama are nearly identical.
And by looking at what Voldemort does in the books – and how and why – perhaps we can predict what bin Laden is doing at the moment.
For example, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Voldemort turns out to be attached to Professor Quill’s head. That is, Voldemort controlled Quill; he was a second brain somewhat.
And maybe bin Laden’s doing the same thing. He might be dead. (Hooray for us?)
But maybe someone else is carrying out bin Laden’s orders. Perhaps someone else hears bin Laden’s voice again and again and again.
So powerful are his teachings, that each member of the Al-Qaeda group is an Osama bin Laden.
His voice is louder than the human conscience.
Whenever someone says Osama is now in Peshawar, or he has fled to Iran, or he’s dead – that image of snake-like sneering face will most probably remain transfixed in our minds.
(It’s the same case with Voldemort – even though people thought he was weak at one point, they still referred to him as You-Know-Who. That is, he scared people stiff.)
Bin Laden’s death probably won’t make a difference.
Answering those questions we thought needed to be answered (so that we could calm our fear) won’t do us good.
He’s in the heart of every Al-Qaeda member, supporting them, praying with them and glorifying the idea of being a martyr.
Syed Huda is a Reporter for Youth Journalism International.
