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. for bin laden, it would be 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.
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 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 show, american westerns and bruce lee movies.
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? [ male announcer ] how could a luminous protein in jellyfish,
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 heard from his brothers when they go there, they sleep on the sand. there s no blanket if it s cold,
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