Inside the Kingdom

My Life in Saudi Arabia

By: Carmen Bin Ladin

Narrated by: Shohreh Aghdashloo

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.

I am saudi and here is what I think.

Her story was way long back and for me I cannot recall that saudi has been this way as she described. She clearly had so much hate towards the country and I can understand why. She wrote about the country based on how she saw it. However, everybody I met that are on her age say that saudi was very simple and people loved and cared for each other and life was very joyful. Nowadays, saudi is not very different from any other country. Women are allowed to drive and we have concerts and cinemas. Nevertheless, despite all that. Women her age now still say that they miss the old saudi... Saudi is a very safe place for women where they can walk freely and feel safe. They are respected everywhere they go.

I was born and raised in saudi until the age of 18 then i have moved to the US for 3 years and then moved to dubai. However, I still love saudi and I feel that it’s a really great place to live in.

interesting

a very interesting story, good insight into the culture and struggles of West versus Islam

A Real Education

I love to learn about different cultures and this book certainly opened my eyes to the way of life in Saudi Arabia. The narrator's accent certainly made the story sound like it might have come from Carmen's lips. A fascinating read!

Revealing

One hears about mistreatment of women in Saudi Arabia. This is one such story.

Great Story!

Really enjoyed her life story. Her daughter Noor, is a great journalist & must take after her mothers writings!