here's christiane ammanture. he was a young gentleman, very gentle, very polite. >> he said if i see you again, i'll kill you. >> he is the most popular muslim leader in the islamic world today. >> translator: his voice. when you hear it, it makes you want to stand up right away to join him, to fight. >> what he's good at is killing civilians. ♪ >> osama bin laden was the world's most wanted terrorist. he haunted americans and millions of others around the world. i'm christiane amanpour in peshawar, pakistan, the birthplace of bin laden's terrorist organization, al qaeda. not far from here, just across the border in afghanistan, he disappeared shortly after 9/11. to know more about osama bin laden, to bring you his whole story, we visited his homes, his headquarters, his hideouts. we journeyed in his footsteps, from saudi arabia to pakistan to afghanistan. those who have prayed with him, lived with him, and fought for him share of story of his gradual but deadly transformation. from a quiet religious boy to the angry voice of holy war. ♪ osama bin laden grew up in the boomtown of jeddah, saudi arabia, a town his father helped build. >> saudi arabia in the 1960s was of course a fantastically wealthy kingdom. jeddah was its main door to the west. it was its main port on the red sea, and a huge amount of building had taken place. i'm brian. i taught osama bin laden english in saudi arabia from 1968 to 1969. osama sat about two-thirds of the way back on the right, by the windows. he was not an outstanding student academically. on the other hand, he was a very bright boy. >> reporter: although arabic and religious instruction took priority, the al fatah school, one of the top schools in the kingdom, was surprisingly progressive. >> the boys had a western uniform. they had trousers and shirts and jackets and shoes. >> faifel shaler had taught a number of bin laden's brothers. osama's family was well-known in saudi arabia. his father's career was the stuff of legend. >> the bin ladens were almost a storybook success. >> reporter: in saudi arabia, the bin laden name is everywhere. it's a vast empire with humble beginnings. the family patriarch, mohammed, seen here in rare photographs, rose from a menial laborer to head one of the largest and most successful construction companies in the middle east. >> he built the airport. he built virtually everything that was standing more than two meters high had been built by bin laden. >> reporter: he had more than 50 children. osama was born in 1957, here in this riyadh neighborhood. he was the only child his mother had with mohammed bin laden before they divorced. then, bin laden and his mother, aliyah, moved to jeddah and lived here, apart from the other wives and children. mohammed bin laden died when osama was just 10 years old. >> the school was abuzz with the news that mohammed bin laden had been killed in a plane crash. >> reporter: with so many siblings, it's hard to say how close osama was to his father or how the loss affected him. this photograph from the early 1970s shows some of the many bin laden brothers and sisters on a vacation in sweden. osama was quiet and shy. his teacher says he rarely spoke up in class. >> he didn't show any particular signs of being a leader amongst men. >> he was a shy boy. he wouldn't talk unless he needed to. he would listen more. i'm dr. hared batarfi. i met osama bin laden in the early 1970s, when we lived in this neighborhood. >> reporter: this nondescript middle-class jeddah neighborhood is where batarfi, then age 12, and bin laden, three years older, became neighbors and best friends, going to the mosque together, playing together, watching tv together. among their favorite shows, american westerns and bruce lee movies. >> we would watch cowboys movies and karate movies, things that, you know, action movies. >> reporter: batarfi took us to the field where he and bin laden played soccer as teenagers. >> and just looking at it brings a lot of memories. and i enjoyed being a captain, really, and telling people what to do. >> reporter: on the soccer field batarfi was the leader. osama, the follower. >> but i would tell him what to do, and he was a good soldier. he would follow orders. usually because he was taller than most of us and older, he would play in the front, because this way he could use his head to, you know, score. >> reporter: batarfi says the teenage osama would usually take the high road. he remembers a time his friend was being bullied. >> so i went running to the guy, and i pushed him away from osama and solved the problem this way, but then osama came to me and said, you know, if you would have waited a few minutes, i would have solved the problem peacefully. so this was the kind of guy who would always think of solving problems peacefully. >> reporter: while batarfi took the lead on the playing field, when it came to religion, there was no question, osama was in charge. >> that's the mosque we used to pray in, yes, yes. ♪ >> reporter: five times every day, devout muslims turn towards the holy city of mecca to pray. osama was always among them. >> for him it was a must. >> reporter: it is something of a mystery, why this son of a wealthy family was drawn to such rigid religious beliefs. over time batarfi saw his best friend become even more of a fundamentalist, striving to live according to his ultrastrict interpretation of the holy koran. >> no pictures, no music, and after that, not even tv. unless there's news. >> reporter: osama's religious devotion went beyond living a simple pious life. he had begun to believe it was his duty to prepare to one day fight for and defend islam. osama's training ground, the desolate saudi desert. the son of a multimillionaire was now preparing for a life without luxuries or even basic essentials, a life as a holy warrior. >> i hear from his brother that when they go there, they sleep on the sand. there's no blanket if it's cold, and they, you know -- like soldiers. >> reporter: batarfi had no desire to join osama's army, so the two friends began to drift apart. >> i would prefer the beach. i was more romantic. you know, i was thinking of love. he was thinking of love of god. >> reporter: but how did osama bin laden's love of god become a mission to kill? 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[ female announcer ] nature valley granola bars, rich dark chocolate, toasted oats. perfect combinations of nature's delicious ingredients, from nature valley. ♪ nature valley granola bars, nature at its most delicious. ♪ i have two car insurances in front of you here. let's start with car insurance x. four million people switched to that car insurance alone just last year. mmm, it's got a nice bouquet. our second car insurance, y. mmmmm, oh, i can see by your face they just lost another customer. you chose geico over the competitor. calm down, calm down. you're getting carried away. what changed osama bin laden from a quiet, well-bred young man into the world's most wanted terrorist? what was the turning point? in the mid '70s bin laden married his cousin, the first of five wives with whom he would have at least 20 children. he became a student here at king abdulaziz university in jeddah. >> i am jamal khalifa, the brother-in-law of osama bin laden. first time i met him in king abdulaziz university in 1976. >> reporter: 21-year-old halifah and bin laden became very close. >> he loved horses a lot. especially arabian horses. >> reporter: when bin laden would journey on horseback into the saudi desert, he would travel with few supplies, always testing himself, perhaps in preparation for a different life. >> we have our dates with us in our pockets and water, that's it. we sleep on the sands. >> reporter: bin laden also took his children, seen here, into the desert, subjecting them to the same regimen. >> so at least the children will feel that sometimes they have to be tough. >> reporter: despite his wealth bin laden also insisted on few comforts at home. >> i went to visit him and i noticed that the apartment was very bare. there was no pictures. the carpet was cheap. things were -- i wouldn't live there myself. >> he likes to be very, very, very simple. >> in hollywood terms bin laden has a great back story. my name is peter bergen. i met osama bin laden in eastern afghanistan in march of 1997. >> reporter: peter bergen, a cnn consultant, is the author of "the osama bin laden i know." this documentary is based in part on his groundbreaking reporting. >> he is the son of a billionaire who lives a frugal, simple life. he's sleeping on a floor. he's not using air conditioning. won't even drink cold water. >> reporter: an heir to one of saudi arabia's wealthiest families, he did not want to stand out. at least not yet. >> he doesn't like really to be a leader. never put himself in a position to be a leader. >> reporter: but that would soon change. bin laden was about to be swept up in a movement that would carry him from student to the leader of a holy war. it was a religious movement, one that would pit young muslims against the establishment. it was called sawa, or the islamic awakening. >> it was the sahwar, at that time it's all about religion and about how to practice islam. >> the sahwar was the islamic awakening of the 1970s. it was particularly appealing to somebody like bin laden who's also very religious. islamic awakening suggested we're going to create more just islamic societies around the middle east. >> he come from a generation of angry islamists, who wanted to change the muslim world for the better. my name is jamal khashuchgi. i met osama bin laden in 1987 in jeddah, saudi arabia. >> reporter: khashoggi, himself, was caught up in the awakening, as a saudi journalist he spent time with bin laden in afghanistan, saudi arabia, and later in sudan. how was osama bin laden influenced by the muslim brotherhood? >> he started with the muslim brotherhood in saudi arabia. he was very much influenced. >> the muslim brotherhood was born in egypt, and again and again, bin laden is influenced by egyptian ideas, egyptian political organizations, and egyptian people, and they tend to move him in a more radical and militant direction over time. >> reporter: this man, syed qutb, was an inspiration for the muslim brotherhood. he was executed in 1966 for what many believe was a trumped-up charge for attempting to overthrow the egyptian government. his book, "milestones," was must reading for jihadists and still is today. it challenges the long-accepted belief that holy war should only be waged in response to an attack. qutb justifies something new, holy war that attacks the enemy first. >> all these things are now coming together for bin laden, the islamic awakening, the fact that he's joined the muslim brotherhood, the fact that he's reading syed qutb, and these are politicizing him and giving the idea we need to create more perfect states around the muslim world. >> reporter: 1979 would be a critical year for the islamic awakening. the ayatollah khomeni overthrew the shah of iran. americans were taken hostage at the u.s. embassy. muslim militants around the world were electrified. that same year the grand mosque in mecca, the holiest of sites, became a battleground where militants seized it and the saudi government sent in troops. osama bin laden was appalled that such a holy place had been defiled. and then, one month later, the final blow. the soviet union, godless and communist, invaded afghanistan, a muslim country. it was an affront to islam. one year, three monumental events that would change bin laden forever. the once shy religious boy was about to answer the call to a violent jihad, and he would never look back. the capital one cash rewards card gives you a 50% annual bonus. and who doesn't want 50% more cash? 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[ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? ha ha. ♪ the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪ ♪ 1979. afghanistan. soviet troops invade an islamic nation. a call for jihad against the infidels sounds throughout the muslim world. a call raised by men like abdullah azzam, a palestinian cleric, charismatic and deeply spiritual. he is the man who would mentor and shape osama bin laden throughout much of the 1980s. >> my name is hadaifah azzam. i've been living with bin laden for more than eight years continuously you could say. >> reporter: huteifa is abdullah azzam's son. this is his first interview for western television. >> my father was leading islamic and arabic studies and osama bin laden was studying engineering at that time. >> reporter: bin laden was drawn to the influential cleric, seen here in afghanistan. he was the ideological force behind the call for jihad and he implored the young and impressionable osama to follow him. >> at the end of 1984 in the summer my father told him, you have to leave with me. i'm leaving to pakistan and afghanistan. >> reporter: bin laden responded. he made the move from saudi arabia to pakistan. >> the picture you get of bin laden at this point of his life, he's shy, he's retiring, he's monoslabbic, people will hardly get a word out of him. and he's completely overshadowed by abdullah azzam a larger than life charismatic figure who had a father-son relationship with bin laden. >> it was in this neighborhood that osama bin laden and abdullah azzam set up the headquarters of an organization they called the services bureau. it was to assist muslim fighters heading into afghanistan and also afghan refugees fleeing the soviet army. bin laden's time in the shadow of his mentor abdullah azzam would be short-lived. no longer merely content to fund the fight, bin laden would join it. his countless hours and days in the harsh saudi desert without shelter and with few provisions had prepared him for this moment. it was always his belief that he was destined to be a holy warrior. >> i think he's always modeled himself on the prophet mohammed and the prophet mohammed was not only a great religious figure but also somebody who personally battled the infidels. so for bin laden it would have been important to continue in the prophet mohammed's footsteps. >> reporter: for bin laden the early days on the battlefield were terrifying. >> when bin laden used to hear the explosions, he used to jump and he used to run away. i still remember that me and my elder and younger brother, we used to laugh. >> reporter: but several years on the battlefield would harden bin laden. fear gave way to ambition. mohammed bin laden's shy and reticent young son osama, once reluctant to lead, was now ready to command his own all-arab army in afghanistan. his mentor adamantly opposed this idea. it was the beginning of a rift that would never heal. >> bin laden went and he built up his own camps. he built up his own front. and he started doing his own battles. my father doesn't want arabs to work separately. and that's what bin laden did in 1987. >> their first test was the battle of jaji in the spring of 1987. hutaiffa azzam fought alongside osama bin laden, who was suffering from blood pressure in the thin mountain air. >> it was a very hard battle and he joined the battle for more than four days. >> reporter: the russians fell back. jaji was the first victory for bin laden's arab army. >> it was not a particularly significant moment in the afghan war. but from a psychological point of view it was really the beginning of sort of bin laden's almost mythic persona because a group of arabs had held off the soviets. it got a lot of play in the middle east. >> reporter: the once reticent and terrified bin laden was now hailed as a fearless leader, a hero on the front lines of jihad. >> he's brave, and he's ready to give his life. he's not a coward. >> reporter: in 1988 the soviets, worn down and demoralized, began to withdraw from afghanistan, and bin laden, now battle-hardened, returned to peshawar, a holy warrior without a war. but this man would soon change that. ayman al zawahiri. >> we are muslims who believe in their religion! >> reporter: a radical egyptian who would give bin laden the enemy he was looking for. 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[ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. i'm don lemon. here are your headlines. five men accused of plotting the september 11th attacks are being arraigned in guantanamo bay, cuba. among them alleged 9/11 mastermind khalid shaikh mohammed. the suspects were silent for most of today's proceedings, but there were two outbursts yelled "they're going to kill them." president barack obama kicked off his campaign in ohio and virginia. in his first speech, he made a case for a second term. >> now we face a choice. for the