The London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reported that tomorrow is Osama bin Laden's 50th birthday. Egyptian Islamist Hani Al-Siba'i, director of the Al-Maqrizi Center in London, said that bin Laden and his deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri did not celebrate birthdays because the custom was a Western innovation not recognized by shari'a. He added that the Western media's preoccupation with bin Laden's turning 50 was aimed at provoking him into releasing a new film, which would help them track him down.
Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, March 9, 2007
